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THE  BIBLE  SIGNIFICANCE 
OF  EAST  AND  WEST 

OR 

IS   THE  DAWN   APPEARING 


BY 
ROBERT  CHRISTY  TOTTEN 


A  Discovery  in  Bible  Symbolism 


1907 

THE  JOHN  C.  WINSTON  COMPANY 
PHILADELPHIA 


Copyright  1907  by 
Robert  C.  Totten 


Entered  av  Stationers'  Hall,  London^ 

1907 

BY  Egbert  C.  Totten 


All  Bights  Reserved 

for  sale  in  France  and  Germany,  including  also 

the  rights  of  translation  into  all  languages 


TO  ALL  WHOM  IT  MAY  CONCERN. 

De  Oulncy  suggests  that,  *'  He  who  reveals  a 
body  of  truth  to  a  candid  and  willing  auditory 
is  content  with  the  grand  simplicities  of  truth 
in  the  quality  of  his  proofs.  And  truth  when 
it  happens  to  be  of  a  high  order  is  generally 
its  ow^n  witness  to  all  wdio  approach  it  in  the 
spirit  of  childlike  docility."  It  is  hoped  that 
you,  the  Reader,  whether  you  be  Protestant, 
Roman  Catholic,  or  Hebrew,  will  approach  this 
book  in  this  spirit.  This  is  in  no  sense  a  de- 
nominational Book,  and  has  to  do  only  with 
Historical  and  Geographical  facts.  Scientific  men 
ask  for  facts.  Here  are  Geographical  and  His- 
torical facts  proving  the  Inspiration  of  the  Scrip- 
tures and  the  doctrine  of  the  Atonement. 

R.  C.  T. 
Pittsburg,  January  i6th,  1907. 


INTRODUCTION 

There  are  Seven  Holy  Places  mentioned  in 
the  Scriptures.  These  seven  places  in  their  order, 
extending"  from  Genesis  to  Revelation  are: 

Garden  of  Eden 

Bethel 

The  Tabernacle 

Holy   Land 

The  Temple 

Holy  City 

The  New  Jerusalem 

It  is  characteristic  of  all  these  places  that  they 
were  so  located  with  reference  to  East  and  West 
that  those  who  departed  from  them  went  with 
their  faces  to  the  East  and  those  who  entered 
them,  entered  with  their  faces  to  the  West.  The 
discovery  set  forth  in  this  book  is,  that  taken 
with  these  facts,  the  prophecy  in  the  last  Chapter 
of  the  Old  Testament  that  "  The  Sun  of  Right- 
eousness should  arise  with  healing  in  His  wings," 
has  been  fulfilled  in  the  past,  and  is  being  ful- 
filled in  the  present  in  the  spread  of  the  gospel 
from  East  to  West;  that  this  progress  has  been 
strictly  on  longitudinal  lines,  that  the  circuit  is 
nearly  completed,  and  that  "  The  Dawn  is  ap- 
pearing." 


CHAPTER  ONE 

THE    GARDEN    OF    EDEN 

Genesis  2,  8  to  12. 

"  And  the  Lord  planted  a  garden  eastward  in  Eden ; 
and  there  He  put  the  man  whom  He  had  formed. 

"  And  out  of  the  ground  made  the  Lord  God  to  grow 
every  tree  that  is  pleasant  to  the  sight  and  good  for 
food ;  the  tree  of  life  also  in  the  midst  of  the  garden, 
and  the  tree  of  Knowledge  of  good  and  evil. 

"  And  a  river  went  out  of  Eden  to  water  the  garden ; 
and  from,  thence  it  parted  and  became   four  heads. 

"  The  name  of  the  first  is  Pison,  that  is  it  which  com- 
passeth  the  whole   land  of  Hivalah,  where  there  is   gold. 

"  And  the  gold  of  that  land  is  good,  there  is  Bdellium 
and  the  onyx  stone." 

Genesis  3,  24. 
"  So  He  drove  out  the  man ;  and  He  placed  at  the  east 
of  the   garden   of  Eden    Cherubim,   and   a  flaming  sword 
which  turned  every  way  to  keep  the  way  of  the  tree  of 
life." 


THE    BIBLE  SIGNIFICANCE 
OF  EAST  AND  WEST 

CHAPTER  ONE 

THE    GARDEN"    OF    EDEN 

THE  description  of  Eden  as  given  in  the 
opening  Chapter  of  Genesis  carries  with 
it  the  con\-iction  that  the  author  of  it  had 
in  mind  a  ver}-  detinite  locality-.  It  had  a  river 
to  water  it,  with  four  streams  flowing  probably 
in  different  directions  —  it  was  not  without  its 
gold  and  precious  stones,  in  all  these  respects 
answering  to  the  description  of  the  Paradise  of 
the  Revelation  with  its  golden  streets  and  walls 
and  gates  of  precious  stones.  It  was  not  want- 
ing in  "  every  tree  that  is  pleasant  to  the  sight 
and  good  for  food,"  and  just  as  in  that  upper 
and  better  country-  —  there  was  the  "  tree  of  life 
which  bare  twelve  manner  of  fruits."  But  with 
all  this  fulness  of  description  there  is  nothing 
whereby  we  can  localize  it.  It  is  not  bounded 
on  the  north  or  on  the  south  or  on  the  west :  and 
yet  strange  to  say  it  is  expressly  narrated  that 

9 


lo         THE  BIBLE  SIGNIFICANCE 

the  Garden  was  "  eastward  in  Eden,"  and  that 
when  Adam  and  Eve  were  driven  out  on  account 
of  their  sin  of  unbehef  and  disobedience,  it  is 
definitely  recorded  that  the  Lord  God,  "  placed 
at  the  East  of  the  Garden  of  Eden,  Cherubim, 
and  a  flaming  sword  which  turned  every  way, 
to  keep  the  way  of  the  tree  of  life." 

In  the  very  beginning  then  of  the  history  of 
our  race  the  East  becomes  the  objective  quarter. 
No  mention  is  made  of  the  other  points  of  the 
compass,  suggesting  the  idea  of  design  on  the 
part  of  the  Holy  Spirit  by  wdiom  the  revelation 
w^as  given.  If  design  be  a  good  evidence  in 
the  argument  for  proving  the  existence  of  an 
Intelligent  and  Wise  Creator,  w^here  we  are  con- 
sidering the  works  that  He  has  made,  is  it  not 
equally  a  good  evidence  in  proving  the  authen- 
ticity and  inspiration  of  the  Revelation  which 
the  Holy  Spirit  has  given,  and  if  it  is  found 
to  be  true  that  this  idea  of  the  East,  as  an  ob- 
jective point  runs  through  the  Scriptures,  woven 
into  their  warp  and  woof,  like  a  golden  thread 
from  Genesis  to  Revelation;  will  it  not  tend  to 
confirm  our  faith  in  the  revealed  truth  that  the 
one  w^ho  gave  this  Revelation,  saw  the  "  end 
from  the  beginning?" 

Professor  Tayler  Lewis  has  suggested  that 
Jehovah  might  have  written  the  revelation  of 
Himself  and  of  the  duty  required  of  man,  in 
shining  letters  upon  the  blue  vault  of  the  heaven 


OF  EAST  AND  WEST  ii 

above  us,  and  it  would  seem,  as  the  further  study 
of  our  subject  will  show,  that  although  the  Holy 
Spirit  has  chosen  to  make  this  Revelation  mainly 
through  the  words  of  Holy  men  "  who  spoke  as 
they  were  moved  by  the  Holy  Spirit,"  that  He 
has  also  written  it  in  what  might  be  termed  the 
wonderful  arrangement  and  location  of  cities  and 
lands  and  even  buildings,  and  in  the  movements 
of  men  and  nations. 

But  to  return  to  the  location  of  Eden  and  its 
gate  upon  its  eastern  boundary,  through  which 
our  sad  progenitors  were  driven  bearing  their 
guilt  and  shame.  The  suggestion  of  a  gate 
carries  with  it  that  of  a  walled  enclosure.  Mil- 
ton very  beautifully  suggests  that  there  was 
really  what  we  would  call  a  hedge,  but  composed 
of  trees  of  magnificent  proportions. 

"  Verduous   walls  of   Paradise." 

The  way  of  return  was  prevented  by  the 
Cherubim  a  name  that  we  do  not  meet  with  again 
in  the  Scripture  until  we  come  to  the  description 
of  the  Holy  of  Holies  in  the  newly  erected  Tab- 
ernacle, and  strange  to  say  we  find  them  there  in 
precisely  the  same  position  so  far  as  the  East  is 
concerned,  and  in  connection  with  a  "  luminous 
presence  "  of  Jehovah  very  suggestive  of  this 
**  flaming  sword  which  turned  every  w^ay  "  at  the 
eastern  entrance  to  Eden.  May  we  not  say  too, 
that  there  also  they  were  guarding  an  entrance, 


12         THE  BIBLE  SIGNIFICANCE 

for  no  one  but  the  High  Priest  and  he  but  once 
a  year  might  enter  the  Holy  of  HoUes  and  "  not 
without  blood,  which  he  offered  for  himself,  and 
for  the  errors  of  the  people;  the  Holy  Ghost 
thus  signifying  that  the  way  into  the  holiest  of 
all  was  not  yet  manifest;"  just  as  the  Cherubim 
and  the  flaming  sword  at  the  gate  of  Eden  clearly 
showed  that  the  way  to  the  tree  of  life  was 
barred  against  the  unbelieving  and  the  disobe- 
dient. 

f_How   long  Adam   and    Eve   and   their  pp6s- 
^rity  remained  in  view  of  the  Cherubim  and"  the 
flaming  sword  is  not  revealed. 
Keble  beautifully  suggests, 

"  Therefore   in   sight  of  man  bereft, 

The  happy  garden  still  was  left 
The  fiery  sword  that  guarded,  showed  it  too, 

Turning  all   ways,  the  world  to  teach. 
That  though,  as  yet  beyond  our  reach. 

Still  in  its  place  the  tree  of  life  and  glory  grew." 

Farther  along  in  the  history  it  is  said  of  Cain, 
"  And  Cain  went  out  from  the  presence  of  the 
Lord  and  dwelt  in  the  land  of  Nod  on  the  East 
V-^^M^i  Carra:aii."  The  *'  presence  of  the  Lord  "  nat- 
urally suggests  the  heavenly  appearances  and 
the  shining  sword,  and  no  doubt  any  revelations 
Adam  received  as  to  the  offering  of  sacrifices 
were  given  to  him  in  this  Presence.  While 
there  was  that  "  fear  of  the  Lord  which  is  the 
beginning  of  Wisdom,"  that  led  him  now  to  de- 


OF  EAST  AND  WEST  13 

sire  to  obey  all  the  commands  which  he  was 
given  under  his  new  circumstances,  there  was 
also  that  natural  fear  of  the  great  unknown  that 
lay  in  unexplored  stretches  beyond  hirn,  ever  to- 
ward the  East,  which  no  doubt  resulted  in  his 
remaining  where  the  "  presence  of  the  Lord  " 
could  be  seen.  Not  so  with  Cain.  After  the 
slaying  of  his  brother,  the  "  presence  of  the 
Lord  "  was  a  far  more  fearful  thing  than  the 
howling  w^astes  of  the  unknown  country  that 
lay  beyond  him.  To  him  "  God  had  become  a 
consuming  fire,"  and  he  was  prepared  to  bear 
any  danger  rather  than  abide  His  presence;  and 
he  therefore  went  still  farther  east,  where  the 
Cherubim  and  the  flaming  sword  could  not  re- 
mind him  of  his  Judge. 

Although  we  cannot  in  any  way  discover  the 
boundaries  of  Eden,  it  is  very  evident  from  the 
history  we  have  been  considering  that  it  was  a 
definite  portion  of  our  globe,  and  that  the  world 
to  the  east  of  it  w^as  of  sufficient  extent  to  con- 
tain the  populations  of  the  globe  for  two  thou- 
sand years  or  until  the  time  of  Noah.  That  the 
East  thus  became  the  reverse  of  Eden,  or  that 
which  was  west  of  its  Eastern  Gate,  and  that 
not  only  in  a  symbolical  sense,  but  also  a  real 
one  the  farther  men  went  like  Cain,  in  this  di- 
rection, the  farther  they  removed  from  good  in- 
fluences, and  the  more  they  expressed  a  desire 
to  flee  from  the  "  presence  of  the  Lord."     Al- 


14         THE  BIBLE  SIGNIFICANCE 

though  God  was  never  without  a  witness  among 
them  and  ahvays  had  a  people  to  serve  Him, 
yet  men  became  more  and  more  worshipers  of 
idols.  The  continued  cry  of  Noah  and  all  who 
like  him  had  a  message  from  Jehovah,  was  to 
repent  of  their  wanderings  and  to  return  to  Him 
and  He  would  have  mercy  upon  them,  and  the 
certainty  of  His  fulfilling  His  promises,  and  of 
the  immutability  of  His  purposes,  He  has  left 
on  record  not  only  in  the  Scriptures  but  has  also 
symbolically  stamped  it  upon  the  very  face  of 
nature. 

For  we  must  not  forget  that  however  impos- 
sible it  is  for  men  to  locate  the  bounds  of  Eden 
"  all  things  are  possible  with  God,"  and  it  is 
only  reasonable  to  suppose  that  He  not  only 
knows  the  present  bounds  of  Eden,  but  it  is  not 
irreverent  even,  to  believe  that  these  bounds  have 
more  than  once  been  the  scene  of  many  a  won- 
derful manifestation,  that  in  the  ages  to  come 
will,  attract  the  wondering  attention  of  the  Saints. 
If  He  could  so  order  it  that  two  thousand  years 
after  Abraham  offered  up  Isaac  on  Mount  Mo- 
riah,  He  also  would  cause  His  own  Son  there  to 
be  offered,  why  should  we  doubt  that  in  many 
of  the  scenes  that  have  already  been  enacted  in 
carrying  out  His  promise  to  Eve  in  Eden,  the 
very  locality  in  which  the  transgression  was  con- 
summated, has  been  and  will  yet  be,  the  theater 


OF  EAST  AND  WEST  15 

of  His  manifestations  not  only  to  men  but  to  the 
heavenly  hosts  as  well. 

The  Seven  Holy  Places  of  Scripture  all  have 
the  Characteristic  of  the  Garden  of  Eden,  that 
is  they  all  face  East.  Each  has  its  suggestions, 
but  all  manifest  a  uniform  design.  Before  the 
time  of  our  Savior,  the  attention  of  mankind  was 
directed  mainly  toward  the  East,  and  it  was  not 
until  the  star  that  led  the  wise  men  from  the 
East,  faded  from  sight  in  the  more  glorious  ris- 
ing of  the  "  Sun  of  Righteousness,"  that  the  at- 
tention of  men  was  drawn  to  the  West,  and  that 
they  experienced  themselves  and  saw  transpir- 
ing before  their  eyes,  as  the  influences  of  the  gos- 
pel spread  toward  the  West  "  beginning  at  Je- 
rusalem," the  verification  of  the  promised  "  heal- 
ing in  His  wings."  The  healing  of  that  old 
wound  by  which  the  race  was  led  away  from 
Eden  toward  the  East.  The  opening  of  the  way 
to  the  *'  tree  of  life  "  made  free  with  no  ''  inter- 
vening Cherubim  or  flaming  sword.  Surely 
such  an  investigation  challenges  our  attention 
and  enlists  our  warmest  sympathies. 

But  we  must  not  fail  to  observe  that  there  is 
associated  with  this  Eastern  Gate  of  Eden  the 
fact  of  sacrifice,  and  that  this  is  also  true  of  all 
Holy  places  we  meet  with  in  the  sacred  story. 
The  account  of  the  offering  by  Abel  of  the  "  first- 
lings of  his  flock "  implies  the  revelation  to 
Adam,  as  well  as  to  Abel  of  the  value  of  such 


i6  THE  BIBLE  SIGNIFICANCE 

sacrifices  and  that  this  that  Abel  offered  was  not 
the  first.  Adam  had  no  doubt  as  the  father  of 
the  family  acted  also  as  its  priest  in  this  re- 
spect. The  sinful  pride  of  Cain  consisted  in 
ignoring  an  express  command;  in  refusing  to 
obtain  from  his  brother  a  lamb  from  his  flock; 
and  in  insisting  on  offering  that  which  was  the 
fruit  of  his  own  toil.  Thus  early  in  the  histoiy 
of  our  race,  we  have  it  proclaimed  and  empha- 
sized that  "  without  the  shedding  of  blood  there 
is  no  remission,"  and  as  we  will  see  in  the  fur- 
ther development  of  our  subject  every  holy  place, 
is  intimately  connected  with  this  idea. 

But  while  the  Gate  of  Eden  thus  stood  for  the 
true  worship  and  where  the  worshiper  stood 
with  his  back  to  the  East,  the  East  into  which 
Cain  wandered  has  ever  since  been  the  represen- 
tation of  false  worship.  No  doubt  the  tradition 
of  the  "  flaming  presence "  remained  among 
Cain's  descendants,  and  in  this  we  have  perhaps 
the. origin  of  that  oldest  of  false  worships,  the 
adoration  of  the  Sun.  The  "  High  places " 
where  idol  worship  was  first  carried  on  were 
chosen  because  there  the  first  rays  of  the  rising 
Sun  were  seen.  From  the  worship  of  the  Sun 
there  naturally  followed  the  worship  of  Fire, 
as  the  nearest  approach  to  the  luminary  of  day, 
and  from  the  desire  manifested  among  all  heathen 
nations  to  bring  their  Divinity  as  near  as  pos- 
sible.    It  was  after  the  worship  of  the  Sun  and 


OF  EAST  AND  WEST  17 

Fire  that  men  descended  to  the  more  groveling 
worship  of  *'  four-footed  beasts  and  creeping 
things."  It  is  a  striking  fact  that  the  offerings 
of  almost  all  the  religions  of  the  East  were  fruits 
and  rice  and  flowers.  Similar  to  the  fruits  of 
the  ground,  Cain  attempted  to  offer. 


CHAPTER  TWO 

BETHEL — HOUSE    OF    GOD 

Genesis   ii,  31. 

"And  Terah  took  Abram  his  son,  and  Lot  the  son  ol 
Haran,  his  son's  son,  and  Sarai  his  daughter-in-law,  his 
son  Abram's  wife;  and  they  went  forth  with  them  from 
Ur  of  Chaldees,  to  go  into  the  Land  of  Canaan;  and  they 
came  to  Haran  and  dwelt  there. 

Genesis  12,  i  and  8. 

"  Now  the  Lord  said  to  Abram,  '  Get  thee  out  of  thy 
country,  and  from  thy  kindred  and  from  thy  father's 
house;  unto  a  land  that  I  will  show  thee.' 

"  And  he  removed  from  thence  unto  a  mountain  on  the 
East  of  Bethel,  and  pitched  his  tent,  having  Bethel  on 
the  west,  and  Hai  on  the  east:  and  there  he  builded  an 
Altar  unto  the  Lord,  and  called  upon  the  Name  of  the 
Lord." 


19 


CHAPTER  TWO 

BETHEL HOUSE  OF  GOD 

AS  we  have  seen  Cain  was  the  first  who  is 
recorded  as  having-  moved  East  of  Eden 
—  while  Terah  and  his  family  including 
Abraham  are  the  first  names  recorded  as  having 
moved  in  a  contrary  direction.  Of  course  it  is 
not  meant  that  no  other  persons  had  moved  in 
this  contrary  direction,  for  Canaan  itself  was 
in  possession  of  the  Canaanites,  and  Egypt  was 
no  doubt  a  populous  country.  The  object  of  the 
Bible  is  not  to  give  a  history  of  the  movements 
of  nations,  any  more  than  it  is  a  treatise  on  the 
movements  of  the  planets.  It  has  to  do  with 
movements  of  men  as  affecting  the  Plan  of  Sal- 
vation which  it  is  given  to  reveal;  and  it  is  in 
this  sense  that  it  is  significant  that  Cain  is  re- 
ferred to  as  moving  East,  and  Abraham  is  the 
first  one  who  returns  in  the  direction  of  the  Gate 
of  Eden,  that  is  toward  the  West. 

Whether  Abraham  himself  had  ever  worshiped 
idols  we  do  not  know,  but  it  was  to  separate 
him  from  people  who  were  worshipers  of  idols 
that  he  was  called  to  leave  Ur  of  Chaldees.     He 

21 


22  THE  BIBLE  SIGNIFICANCE 

was  to  be  brought  in  such  a  Avay  as  to  turn  his 
back  on  the  Sun;  the  most  probable  worship  of 
the  Eastern  nations  of  his  day.  He  entered 
Canaan,  the  Land  of  promise  from  the  East  and 
his  first  place  of  recorded  worship  is  Bethel. 
The  question  as  to  the  position  of  the  Promised 
Land  relatively  to  Eden  will  be  considered  in 
connection  with  the  entrance  of  the  Children  of 
Israel;  but  it  is  very  striking  that  the  next  time 
the  word  East  (with  the  exception  of  the  disper- 
sion after  the  flood  appears  in  the  Holy  Scrip- 
ture after  Eden),  is  in  connection  with  Bethel, 
the  first  place  where  Abraham  is  recorded  to  have 
established  a  regular  worship,  and  the  second 
Holy  place  mentioned  in  Scripture.  It  is  sig- 
nificant also  that  the  first  reference  in  the  Scrip- 
tures to  the  West  is  in  connection  with  Bethel. 
Bethel  means  House  of  God,  so  that  by  its  very 
name  it  is  set  apart,  but  it  becomes  still  more 
significant  where  we  find  it  located,  and  evidently 
with  a  purpose,  in  exactly  the  same  way  as  the 
Gate  of  Eden.  After  so  many  centuries  a  rep- 
resentative of  sinful  Adam,  but  like  him  a  peni- 
tent sinner,  seeking  ways  of  new  obedience 
erected  an  altar  that  must  have  occupied  the  very 
position  relatively  of  that  of  Adam  and  Abel 
where  they  offered  sacrifices  in  the  ''  presence  of 
the  Lord." 

That    Bethel   is   especially    marked   out   as   a 
Holy. Place  in  Scripture  is  evident  from  what  is 


OF  EAST  AND  WEST  23 

further  recorded  of  it.  Jacob  on  his  way  to 
Haran  to  escape  the  vengeance  of  Esau  against 
whom  he  had  very  grievously  sinned,  lay  down 
at  Bethel  with  a  stone  for  his  pillow  and  had  the 
wonderful  vision  of  the  ladder  extending  from 
earth  to  heaven,  "  and  behold  the  angel  of  God 
ascending  and  descending  on  it."  And  behold 
the  Lord  stood  above  it  and  said  "  I  am  the  Lord 
God  of  Abraham  thy  father "  thus  connecting 
it  with  the  incident  we  have  already  recorded. 
Jacob  was  being  driven  toward  Haran  and  the 
East  by  his  sins,  but  the  Lord  who  "  Looketh 
not  on  the  outward  appearance,  but  on  the  heart  " 
found  something  in  the  way  of  possibility  for 
good,  even  in  the  midst  of  the  deceit  of  Jacob's 
life,  and  when  he  had  been  chastened  and  re- 
turned from  his  wanderings,  it  was  in  this  same 
Bethel  he  worshiped.  "  And  God  said  unto 
Jacob,  *  Arise,  go  up  to  Bethel  and  dwell  there, 
and  make  there  an  Altar  unto  God,  that  ap- 
peared unto  thee  when  thou  Reddest  from  the 
face  of  Esau  thy  brother.'  Then  Jacob  said  unto 
his  household,  and  to  all  that  were  with  him, 
*  Put  away  the  strange  gods  that  are  among 
you  and  be  clean  and  change  your  garments; 
and  let  us  arise  and  go  to  Bethel ;  and  I  will  make 
there  an  Altar  unto  God,  who  answered  me  in 
the  day  of  my  distress  and  was  with  me  in  the 
way  which  I  went.'  " 

We  have  a  reference,  or  at  least  this  is  the  gen- 


24  THE  BIBLE  SIGNIFICANCE 

erally  received  opinion,  by  our  Saviour  himself  to 
Bethel,  where  he  said  to  Nathaniel,  "  Hereafter 
ye  shall  see  the  heavens  open,  and  the  angels  of 
God  ascending  and  descending  upon  the  Son  of 
Man/'  It  is  supposed  that  Nathaniel  had  been 
reading  and  meditating  upon  this  ancient  story, 
wondering  perhaps  as  to  what  the  significance  of 
the  passage  was.  It  is  enough  for  our  present 
purpose  to  have  this  indorsement  by  the  Master 
of  the  importance  of  the  place  and  the  occur- 
rence which  takes  this  "  House  of  God  "  quite 
out  of  the  line  of  ordinary  cities,  and  in  some 
sense  emphasizes  the  fact  that  after  Eden,  it  is 
the  first  place  that  is  designated  as  facing  to  the 
East  in  an  account  that  covers  some  twenty-one 
hundred  years. 

Let  us  repeat  that  when  Jehovah,  called  the 
Father  of  the  Faithful  as  the  progenitor  of  a 
"  peculiar  people  "  who  should  be  made  the  ob- 
jects of  His  special  care,  and  whose  chief  honor 
it  should  be  to  be  the  custodian  of  the  Revela- 
tion He  was  to  make  of  Himself  to  men,  he 
brought  him  from  the  East  and  caused  him  to  set 
up  an  Altar  at  Bethel,  and  to  worship  w^ith  his 
back  to  the  Sun  and  facing  this  House  of  God. 

Neither  must  we  neglect  to  notice  that  with 
the  exception  of  the  altar  that  Noah  built  when 
he  came  out  of  the  Ark,  this  is  the  first  mention 
during  some  twenty-one  hundred  years  of  sac- 
rifice.    Of  course  such  sacrifices  continued  in  the 


OF  EAST  AND  WEST  25 

line  of  those  who  worshiped  Jehovah,  and  the 
fact  is  here  recorded  particularly  to  bring  Bethel 
into  harmony  with  the  worship  at  the  Gate  of 
Eden.  It  is  not  recorded,  indeed,  that  there  was 
any  manifestation  of  the  Divine  presence  in  a 
luminous  cloud  as  in  the  Holy  of  Holies,  and 
yet  it  would  be  entirely  consistent  with  the  story, 
if  our  imagination  supplied  the  want  of  the  nar- 
rative. It  could  not  have  been  long  before 
when  the  following  scene  occurred.  In  obe- 
dience to  the  Divine  command  Abraham  had 
taken  a  heifer,  and  a  goat  and  a  ram  and  a  turtle 
dove  and  a  young  pigeon  and  having  killed  them, 
divided  each  into  two  pieces  and  laid  them  in  two 
rows  — "  and  it  came  to  pass  that  when  the  sun 
went  down,  and  it  was  dark,  behold  a  smoking 
furnace  and  a  burning  lamp  that  passed  between 
those  pieces  and  that  same  day  the  Lord  made  a 
covenant  with  Abram."  Perhaps  the  fire  that 
consumed  the  sacrifice  came  down  from  heaven 
as  it  certainly  did  when  the  Altar  at  the  Taber- 
nacle and  at  the  Temple  were  dedicated.  The 
very  name  of  the  place  Bethel,  House  of  God, 
carries  with  it  the  suggestion  of  some  Divine 
manifestation. 

In  connection  with  the  sojourn  of  Abraham 
in  Canaan,  we  cannot  overlook  the  significance 
of  this  word  East  as  given  in  the  sacred  record 
in  connection  with  the  quarrel  of  Lot  with  Abra- 
ham and  the  choice  he  made.     In  the  13th  chap- 


26         THE  BIBLE  SIGNIFICANCE 

ter  of  Genesis  it  is  stated,  "  Then  Lot  chose  him 
all  the  plain  of  Jordan,  and  Lot  journeyed  East, 
and  they  separated  themselves,  the  one  from  the 
other,  Abram  dwelt  in  the  land  of  Canaan,  and 
Lot  dwelt  in  the  cities  of  the  plain,  and  pitched 
his  tent  toward  Sodom.  But  the  men  of  Sodom 
were  wicked  and  sinners  before  the  Lord  exceed- 
ingly." The  East,  so  far  as  the  scriptures  are 
concerned,  up  to  the  time  of  our  Savior,  seems 
to  have  been  the  synonym  for  sin  and  from  the 
days  of  Cain  who  "  went  out  from  the  presence 
of  the  Lord,  and  dwelt  in  the  land  of  Nod  on 
the  East  of  Eden,"  the  dwelling-place  of  sin- 
ners. 


CHAPTER  THREE 

THE  TABERNACLE  AND   THE  TEMPLE 

Numbers  3,  38. 
"  But  those  who  encamp  before  the  Tabernacle  toward 
the  East,  even  before  the  tabernacle  of  the  congregation, 
shall  be  Moses,  and  Aaron  and  his  sons,  keeping  charge 
of  the  sanctuary,  for  the  charge  of  the  children  of  Israel ; 
and  the  stranger  that  cometh  nigh  shall  be  put  to  death." 

Numbers  2,  3. 

"And  on  the  east  side  toward  the  rising  of  the  Sun, 
shall  they  of  the  standard  of  the  camp  of  Judah  pitch, 
throughout  their  armies." 


27 


CHAPTER  THREE. 

THE    TABERNACLE    AND    THE    TEMPLE 

THE  next  Holy  Place  we  come  to  in  the 
Scriptures  is  the  Tabernacle,  and  as  the 
Temple  was  in  general  form  the  same  and 
for  the  same  purpose,  they  can  be  properly  con- 
sidered together  in  the  same  Chapter.  That 
the  Tabernacle  faced  East  is  a  well  known  fact, 
testified  to  from  Hebrew  records  aside  from  the 
scriptural  account,  but  it  is  evident  from  the  de- 
scription given  in  the  twenty-sixth  chapter  of 
Exodus  of  the  boards  that  formed  the  sides  of 
the  enclosure  of  the  "  meeting  house/'  those  for 
the  north,  south  and  west  sides  are  particularly 
mentioned  giving  the  number  of  each  and  size, 
while  none  are  mentioned  for  the  eastern  side. 
This  was  the  entrance,  and  was  not  closed  with 
boards  but  by  a  veil  or  curtain,  a  description  of 
which  we  have  in  the  thirty-sixth  verse.  "  And 
thou  shalt  make  a  hanging  for  the  door  of  the 
tent  of  blue  and  purple  and  scarlet  and  fine 
twined  linen,  wrought  with  needle  work."  It  is 
also  evident  from  Numbers  2,  3,  "  And  on  the 
east  side  toward  the  rising  of  the  Sun  shall  they 
29 


30  THE  BIBLE  SIGNIFICANCE 

of  the  standard  of  the  camp  of  Judah  pitch 
throughout  their  armies."  It  is  significant  that 
the  tribe  of  Judah  from  which  our  Lord  sprang 
had  the  most  honorable  position  and  stood  near- 
est that  eastern  entrance  to  the  Tabernacle, 
which  itself  occupied  relatively  the  same  posi- 
tion as  the  Gate  of  Eden  and  the  city  of  Bethel. 
The  only  other  tribe  that  stood  nearer  or  within 
the  Gate  was  the  tribe  of  Levi,  which  included 
Moses  and  Aaron  who  were  the  official  repre- 
sentatives of  Jehovah.  One  of  the  most  strik- 
ing reminders  of  Eden,  was  the  presence  of  the 
Cherubim  in  the  Holy  of  Holies  and  the  shining 
presence  of  Jehovah  between  them.  This  com- 
bination of  the  figures  and  the  *'  presence  of  the 
Lord"  is  not  mentioned  since  the  day  when  Adam 
and  Eve  were  driven  from  Eden.  When  we 
consider  that  Moses  and  the  children  of  Israel 
were  fully  aware  of  this  fact,  we  will  in  some 
measure  realize  the  wonderful  importance  it 
must  have  had  to  them.  While  it  suggested 
Eden,  and  the  flaming  sword,  guarding  the  way 
to  the  "  tree  of  life,'^  it  must  have  also  suggested 
the  '*  Lord  God  merciful  and  gracious,  long- 
suffering  and  abundant  in  goodness,  mercy  and 
truth  and  yet  who  wall  by  no  means  clear  the 
guilty."  Moses  and  Aaron  however  could  enter 
into  the  very  presence  of  Jehovah  and  return 
alive,  and  this  was  a  visible  sign  that  a  way  had 


OF  EAST  AND  WEST  31 

been  found  whereby  "  sinful  man  could  be  just 
with  God." 

The  Temple  at  Jerusalem,  being  only  a  more 
elaborate  and  costly  counter-part  of  the  Taber- 
nacle, also  occupied  the  same  position  with  re- 
gard to  the  East.  So  important  was  this  that 
the  area  of  ground  on  the  top  of  the  eminence 
on  which  it  was  erected  not  being  large  enough, 
it  w^as  extended  at  great  cost  by  building  up  a 
retaining  wall  on  the  side  of  the  valley  of  the 
Kidron  and  filling  it  in  with  earth.  Many  of 
the  stones  were  very  great  and  are  no  doubt 
those  referred  to  by  our  Savior,  when  He  said 
to  His  disciples,  as  He  sat  at  the  foot  of  the 
Mount  of  Olives,  in  speaking  of  the  destruction 
of  Jerusalem,  "  seest  thou  these  great  stones?" 
We  are  told  that  this  front  of  the  temple  even  in 
our  Savior's  time  rose  to  a  great  height,  and  as 
it  was  overlaid  wath  gold,  was  a  very  beautiful 
sight  when  it  caught  the  rays  of  the  sun,  as  they 
first  reached  it  over  the  Mount  of  Olives. 

It  indeed  faced  the  Sun,  just  as  did  all  the 
heathen  temples  of  that  day.  It  was  one  result 
however  of  the  position  of  the  Altar  of  burnt 
sacrifices  at  the  Temple  that  the  Priest  of  Je- 
hovah was  compelled  to  stand  with  his  back  to- 
ward the  Sun;  thus  reversing  the  position  of  all 
idolatrous  priests  and  casting  contempt  on  their 
idols. 

The  heavenly  guide  of  the  prophet  Ezekiel, 


32         THE  BIBLE  SIGNIFICANCE 

showed  him  a  cuhiiination  of  all  the  abomina- 
tions of  Judah.  "  Then  said  He  unto  me,  "  Hast 
thou  seen  this  O,  son  of  man?  Turn  thee  again 
and  thou  shalt  see  greater  abominations  than 
these." 

''  And  He  brought  me  into  the  inner  court  of 
the  Lord's  house  and  behold,  at  the  door  of  the 
temple  of  the  Lord,  between  the  porch  and  the 
altar,  were  about  five  and  tw^enty  men,  with 
their  backs  toward  the  temple  of  the  Lord,  and 
their  faces  toward  the  East;  and  they  worshiped 
the  sun  toward  the  East." 

It  is  remarkable  that  even  in  the  Christian 
Church  there  have  been  in  all  ages  down  to  our 
own  those  who  have  overlooked  this  evident  in- 
tention of  Jehovah  to  place  dishonor  on  the 
heathen  worship  of  the  sun.  Dr.  Mosheim  in 
his  ecclesiastical  history  thus  refers  to  it :  "  Be- 
fore the  coming  of  Christ  all  the  eastern  nations 
performed  Divine  worship  with  their  faces  turned 
to  that  part  of  the  heavens  where  the  sun  dis- 
plays his  rising  beams.  This  custom  was 
founded  upon  a  general  opinion  that  God  whose 
essence  they  looked  upon  to  be  light,  and  whom 
they  considered  as  being  circumscribed  within 
certain  limits,  dwelt  in  that  part  of  the  firma- 
ment, from  which  He  sends  forth  the  sun,  the 
bright  image  of  His  benignity  and  glory.  The 
Christian  converts  indeed  rejected  this  gross  er- 
ror; but  they  retained  the  ancient  and  universal 


OF  EAST  AND  WEST  33 

custom,  of  worshiping  toward  the  east,  which 
sprang  from  it.  Nor  is  that  custom  abohshed 
even  in  our  times,  but  still  prevails  in  a  number 
of  Christian  Churches."  In  view  of  the  fact 
that  the  Jewish  worship,  to  which  certainly 
Christians  should  look  for  a  warrant  for  forms 
of  worship,  rather  than  to  eastern  idolaters,  ex- 
pressly provides  against  this  error;  it  is  difficult 
to  understand  how  the  early  church  fell  into  so 
great  a  mistake,  and  still  more  difficult  to  under- 
stand how  any  Christian  communion  of  this  late 
age  should  persist  in  observing  it. 

One  of  the  most  precious  of  all  texts  is  that 
which  assures  us,  that,  "  as  far  as  the  East  is 
from  the  West  so  far  hath  He  removed  our 
transgressions  from  us."  It  had  a  practical  il- 
lustration in  the  ceremonies  connected  with  the 
great  day  of  Atonement,  a  full  account  of  which 
we  have  in  Leviticus  i6th  chapter.  Two  goats 
were  selected,  one  of  which  was  slain  and  its 
blood  carried  by  the  High  Priest  into  the  Holy 
of  Holies  and  sprinkled  on  the  mercy  seat  which 
was  between  the  Cherubim;  the  other  goat  was 
brought  to  the  High  Priest  who  laying  his  hands 
on  the  animal's  heal  confessed  his  own  sin  and 
all  the  sins  of  the  people  and  the  goat  was  then 
led  away  into  the  wilderness  "  East  of  Jordan." 

Following  the  line  of  our  subject  and  in  con- 
nection with  the  services  of  the  temple  and  the 
sins  of  the  "  peculiar  people,"  it  is  a  striking  fact 


34  THE  BIBLE  SIGNIFICANCE 

that  all  the  punishments  and  captivities  resulting 
from  the  sin  of  idolatry  are  associated  with  the 
East.  Egypt  was  just  as  much  a  heathen  coun- 
try as  Assyria  or  Persia,  and  yet  we  never  hear 
of  the  Jews  being  carried  captive  into  Egypt. 
It  is  always  eastward,  and  when  they  repented 
of  their  idolatries,  the  return  was  from  East  to 
West.  It  may  be  objected  that  the  bondage  in 
Egypt  in  the  time  of  Moses  seems  to  be  an  ex- 
ception. But  we  are  not  warranted  in  consider- 
ing that  bondage  a  punishment.  It  was  rather  a 
trial  and  chastening  and  intended  to  consolidate 
the  nation  and  make  it  willing  to  depart  for 
Canaan.  Egypt  is  rather  associated  with  the 
good  that  came  to  Joseph,  and  through  him  to 
Jacob  and  his  descendants  in  preserving  them 
from  famine,  and  our  Savior  Himself  was  pre- 
served there  safe  from  the  wrath  of  cruel  Herod. 
As  we  have  already  suggested,  Egypt  occupied  a 
very  different  position,  so  far  as  the  training 
of  God's  people  w^as  concerned  than  Assyria  and 
Persia  and  the  countries  of  the  East. 

Of  course  we  expect  to  find  an  altar  for  sac- 
rifice at  the  entrance  to  the  Tabernacle  and  the 
Temple,  but  we  must  not  overlook  the  fact  that  it 
stood  in  the  same  relative  position  toward  the 
Cherubim  and  the  Holy  presence  that  shone  be- 
tween in  the  Holy  of  Holies,  that  the  altar  on 
which  the  sacrifice  of  Abel  was  offered  stood  to 
the  Cherubim  and  the  ''  presence  of  the  Lord  " 


OF  EAST  AND  WEST  35 

at  the  eastern  entrance  to  Eden.  They  signi- 
fied the  same  thing.  They  both  held  out  to  sin- 
ful man  the  possibility  of  reconciliation,  but  they 
also  indicated  that  the  way  back  to  Eden  was  not 
yet  free  to  all.  There  was  an  advance  on  the 
revelation  made  to  Adam  at  the  Gate  of  Eden 
and  to  Abraham  at  Bethel,  for  now  Moses  and 
Aaron  and  the  High  Priest  of  all  ages  of  the 
Hebrew  Church  w^re  permitted  once  a  year  to 
enter  the  Holy  of  Holies,  a  most  precious  inti- 
mation that  a  way  might  be  found,  when  not 
only  these  favored  ones  but  those  whom  they 
represented  might  also  freely  enter  in. 


^  CHAPTER  FOUR 

THE   HOLY  LAND 

Exodus  3,  7  and  8. 

"  And  the  Lord  said,  I  have  surely  seen  the  affliction 
of  my  people  which  are  in  Egypt,  and  have  heard  their 
cry  by  reason  of  their  task-masters ;  for  I  know  their 
sorrows. 

"  And  I  am  come  down  to  deliver  them  out  of  the  Land 
of  the  Egyptians  and  to  bring  them  up  out  of  that  land, 
unto  a  good  land  and  a  large,  unto  a  land  flowing  with 
milk  and  honev." 


37 


CHAPTER  FOUR- 

THE  HOLY  LAND 

A  GLANCE  at  the  Map  of  Palestine  is  all  that 
is  necessary  to  make  an  impression  as  to  its 
peculiar  form  and  position.  It  lies  due 
north  and  south  and  east  and  west.  It  is  situ- 
ated between  the  great  eastern  nations  of  Asia 
and  the  great  western  nations  of  Europe,  and  has 
had  much  to  do  with  the  destinies  of  both.  But  to 
the  Hebrew  and  the  Christian  alike,  it  is  known 
as  the  earthly  Canaan  and  the  Land  of  Promise, 
the  scene  of  the  training  of  the  Children  of  Abra- 
ham, and  the  earthly  home  of  Him,  "  who 
though  He  was  rich  yet  for  our  sakes  became 
poor  that  we  through  His  poverty  might  be  made 
rich."  If  in  no  other  sense  it  could  be  called 
holy,  it  would  be  true  of  it,  that  it  at  one  time 
had  for  an  inhabitant  one  who  was  "  holy,  harm- 
less, undefiled  and  separate  from  sinners." 

So  far  as  the  scripture  account  of  it  is  given, 
it  was  good  and  large,  a  land  ''  flowing  with 
milk  and  honey."  By  its  diversified  surface  of 
hill  and  dale,  it  was  specially  adapted  to  the  oc- 
cupations in  which  the  children  of  Israel  had  been 

39 


40         THE  BIBLE  SIGNIFICANCE 

trained  during  their  sojourn  in  Egypt.  Its 
water  abounded  in  fish  and  its  hills  and  valleys 
were  covered  with  vineyards  and  olive  trees. 
But  to  a  Hebrew  it  was  above  everything  else 
the  land  of  Promise;  Abraham  had  looked  to 
the  north  and  to  the  south,  to  the  east  and  to 
the  west,  and  Jehovah  had  promised  when  as  yet 
he  did  not  possess  a  foot  of  it,  "  all  this  will  I 
give  thee  and  to  thy  seed  forever." 

At  length  the  time  came  to  enter  on  the  reali- 
zation of  the  Promise.  Pharaoh  was  humbled 
under  the  mighty  judgments  of  Jehovah,  and 
Moses  was  leading  the  hosts  of  Israel  to  possess 
the  heritage  of  Abraham,  Isaac  and  Jacob.  The 
natural  entrance  was  by  the  south-west,  and  the 
beginning  of  the  journey  was  north-east.  Then 
a  strange  event  occurred.  The  spies  who  had 
been  sent  forward  to  learn  the  best  route,  came 
back  panic-stricken  with  tales  of  giants  and 
walled  cities,  and  invincible  hosts.  Unbelief, 
that  prolific  source  of  human  woe ;  want  of  trust 
in  the  arm  of  Jehovah ;  want  of  obedience  to  His 
commands  as  given  by  Moses,  prevented  them 
from  entering  in;  and  they  were  ordered  on 
that  painful  and  circuitous  route  which  after  forty 
years  brought  them  to  the  river  Jordan  opposite 
the  city  of  Jericho. 

They  could  not  enter  in  from  the  south-west 
because  of  unbelief,  but  that  was  just  the  sin  that 
sent  Adam  and  Eve  on  that  journey  from  the 


OF  EAST  AND  WEST  41 

Gate  of  Eden  eastward.  The  Land  of  promise 
like  Eden  and  Bethel  also  faced  east.  It  be- 
longed to  Jehovah.  The  children  of  Israel  were 
about  to  enter  on  its  privileges  to  place  them- 
selves under  His  rule  to  acknowledge  Him  as 
their  King,  and  He  was  about  to  receive  them  as 
His  people,  but  it  was  necessary  for  them  to 
come  in  the  appointed  way,  to  acknowledge  in 
the  very  direction  from  which  they  came  that 
they  were  returning  prodigals  seeking  their 
Father's  house. 

In  this  view  of  the.  case  it  is  very  interesting 
to  consider  exactly  how  they  entered  the  Holy 
Land.  We  have  a  detailed  account  of  it  in  the 
Third  and  Fourth  chapters  of  Joshua.  The  Ark 
of  the  covenant  on  which  were  the  figures  of  the 
Cherubim,  symbolizing  those  that  guarded  the 
East  Gate  of  Eden  twenty-five  hundred  years  be- 
fore, w^ent  in  advance  and  the  waters  of  Jordan 
rolled  back.  The  Ark,  the  symbol  of  the  Divine 
Presence  remained  in  the  middle  of  the  river  un- 
til the  hosts  of  Israel  had  all  entered  Canaan. 
Thus  in  advancing  stages  under  different  dispen- 
sations, in  widely  difYerent  circumstances,  the 
story  of  Eden  is  repeated,  the  significance  of  the 
East  is  steadily  emphasized.  Man  departed  in  a 
certain  direction  from  Jehovah  when  he  sinned, 
and  in  the  eternal  fitness  lof  things  he  must  re- 
trace his  steps  if  he  would  enjoy  the  benefits  of 
his  Father's  house. 


42  THE  BIBLE  SIGNIFICANCE 

It  is  not  well  to  be  wise  above  what  is  written. 
The  conquest  of  Canaan  may  have  in  it  many 
suggestions  that  have  their  counterpart  in  the  ex- 
perience of  God's  people.  Bunyan's  Pilgrim's 
Progress  is  an  Allegory.  The  selection  of  Abra- 
ham, the  training  of  the  children  of  Israel,  the 
journey  in  the  wilderness,  the  entrance  into  Ca- 
naan, and  its  conquest  are  stupendous  facts.  If 
we  could  follow  them  and  understood  it  all  in 
its  spiritual  significance,  the  triumph  at  Jericho, 
the  defeat  at  Ai,  the  wncked  city  that  stood  east 
of  Bethel,  we  might  find  it  to  be  an  epitome  of 
still  larger  movements  in  the  church  of  God,  in 
the  ages  that  have  followed.  But  certainly  the 
fact  that  they  entered  the  Land  of  Promise  by  so 
circuitous  a  route,  when  taken  in  connection  with 
the  prominence  given  the  East  at  Eden,  Bethel 
and  the  Tabernacle  and  Temple,  is  food  for 
thought. 

The  Egyptians  entered  Canaan  from  the  south, 
and  the  Syrians  from  the  north.  The  Philis- 
tines entered  it  from  the  west.  But  for  those  to 
whom  it  was  the  land  of  promise  as  we  have  seen 
both  in  the  case  of  Abraham  and  the  Children 
of  Israel  it  was  entered  from  the  east.  The 
cities  named  in  connection  with  the  entry  of 
Abraham  are  Schechem  and  Bethel  and  Ai,  and 
these  places,  a  glance  at  the  map  will  show,  were 
most  directly  approached  from  the  east  by  cross- 
ing  the   Jordan.     Even    if   he    came    from   the 


OF  EAST  AND  WEST  43 

north-east,  these  facts  would  show  that  he  first 
traveled  south  and  crossed  the  Jordan  probably 
at  the  very  place,  that  his  descendants,  now  be- 
come a  host,  entered  Canaan.  This  is  confirmed 
when  we  remember  that  when  Jacob  returned 
from  his  wanderings,  he  probably  came  in  the 
same  \\**ay,  by  Mananhain,  Peniel,  the  brook  Jab- 
bok  and  across  Jordan,  In  calling  Abraham 
from  Ur  of  Chaldees,  and  in  bringing  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel  into  Canaan  across  Jordan,  it  is 
as  if  Jehovah  had  called  Adam  and  Eve  from 
their  wanderings  once  more  into  the  Garden  of 
Eden  through  that  Eastern  Gate  through  which 
they  were  driven  out. 

We  cannot  leave  the  consideration  of  this  sub- 
ject without  pointing  out  the  reverse  of  the  pic- 
ture, which  is,  that  wdienever  these  same  Children 
of  Israel  were  unbelieving  and  disobedient,  espec- 
ially in  that  sin  of  Adam  and  Eve  of  looking 
from  the  Jehovah  of  Eden  to  another  guide 
which  is  the  root  of  all  idolatry,  they  were  pun- 
ished by  being  sent  into  captivity  and  always 
toward  the  East.  As  we  have  already  suggested 
the  Children  of  Israel  were  chastened  through 
the  instrumentality  of  the  Egyptians  and  the 
Philistines,  but  there  seems  to  be  a  warrant  for 
drawing  a  wide  distinction  between  the  suffer- 
ings they  experienced  from  the  nations  from  the 
west  and  south,  and  those  in  whose  midst  they 
were  sent  as  captives  in  the  east. 


CHAPTER  FIVE 

THE   HOLY   CITY 
Psalm     122. 


45 


CHAPTER  FIVE 

THE    HOLY   CITY 

LIKE  the  New  Jerusalem  that  St.  John  saw 
in  prophetic  vision  in  the  Isle  called  Pat- 
mos,  the  Holy  City,  too,  ''  lieth  four 
square  "  as  to  general  position.  It  was  walled, 
and  was  entered  from  different  directions  by 
gates.  The  most  ancient  record  concerning 
these  is  perhaps  that  of  Nehemiah  who  came 
from  Shushan  in  Medo-Persia,  as  recorded  in 
his  prophecy.  The  first  one  mentioned  is  the 
*'  Gate  of  the  Valley,"  and  as  he  came  in  as 
straight  a  line  from  due  east  as  a  bird  could  fly, 
we  naturally  connect  this  first  gate  with  the  Val- 
ley of  the  Kidron,  and  the  way  to  Bethany  and 
the  fords  at  Jericho.  Next  we  have  the  "  Gate 
of  the  Fountain,"  which  led  to  the  King's  pool, 
then  the  "sheep  gate,"  the  "fish  gate,"  "the 
old  gate,"  "  the  horse  gate,"  and  "  the  water 
gate."  These  have  lost,  of  course,  all  signifi- 
cance to  us  by  lapse  of  time.  In  the  time  of  our 
Savior  the  entrances  to  the  city  were  probably 
very  much  as  they  were  when  Nehemiah  repaired 
them.     In  those  days  Herod's  gate  was  on  the 

47 


48         THE  BIBLE  SIGNIFICANCE 

north  and  also  the  Damascus  gate;  on  the  west 
Jaffa  gate;  on  the  south,  Zion  gate;  on  the  east 
modern  Jerusalem  has  St.  Stephen's  gate,  and 
the  "  Golden  Gate,"  now  mysteriously  closed. 
These  gates  like  the  "  Valley  Gate "  of  Nehe- 
miah,  face  the  east,  and  at  least  one  of  them  was 
directly  opposite  the  Mount  of  Olives,  and  as 
we  shall  see  the  one  by  which  the  Tribes  entered 
Jerusalem  when  they  came  up  several  times  in  a 
year  to  attend  the  feasts. 

Several  tribes ;  that  is  the  half  tribes  of  Manas- 
seh,  Gad  and  Reuben,  had  their  inheritance  on  the 
East  side  of  Jordan,  and  in  coming  to  Jerusalem 
to  worship  would  cross  the  Jordan  near  Jericho, 
and  coming  by  the  way  of  Bethany  enter  the  city 
by  the  descent  of  the  Mount  of  Olives  and  cross- 
ing the  brook  Kidron.  It  may  be  that  even  the 
tribes  north,  may  have  united  with  this  company, 
and  together  made  one  great  procession,  entering 
Jerusalem  by  the  same  gate.  But,  however  this 
may  have  been  in  the  time  of  David,  by  a  very 
remarkable  Providence,  the  Jews  in  Galilee  for 
some  hundreds  of  years  before  the  time  of  our 
Savior,  were  compelled  to  make  a  detour  to  the 
other  side  of  Jordan  when  they  came  up  to  Jeru- 
salem to  attend  the  Feasts;  by  the  fact  that  Sa- 
maria lay  between  Galilee  and  Judea,  and  such 
enmity  existed  between  the  two  nations  that  a 
journey  through  Samaria  for  a  Galilean  was 
practically  impossible.     If  a  Jew  was  by  stress 


OF  EAST  AND  WEST  49 

of  thirst  compelled  to  drink  out  of  the  cup  of  a 
Samaritan,  the  vessel  was  immediately  broken 
and  destroyed.  This  enmity  of  course  prevented 
all  intercourse  with  the  Samaritans  and  made  it 
necessary  to  pass  around  Samaria  by  crossing  the 
Jordan  at  the  fords  of  Enon  and  recrossing  near 
Jericho.  From  there  the  way  led  by  Bethany 
and  the  Mount  of  Olives  across  the  brook  Kid- 
ron  to  the  eastern  gate  of  the  Holy  City.  In 
this  way  our  Savior  always  entered  the  city,  so 
far  as  we  have  any  record,  from  the  time  He 
went  up  with  His  parents  at  the  age  of  twelve 
"  about  His  Father's  business,"  until  the  day  He 
entered  it  amidst  the  acclamations  and  receiving 
the  homage  of  the  multitude  who  hailed  Him 
as  their  King.  Every  day  of  the  week  of  His 
Passion,  He  went  out  of  this  eastern  gate  to 
Bethany  and  returned  every  morning.  Was 
there  no  significance  in  this  uniform,  and  so  far 
as  we  have  any  record,  this  unchanging  course 
on  the  part  of  the  tribes  and  especially  of  our 
Savior  in  view  of  the  prominence  we  have  no- 
ticed as  to  the  East  in  the  scriptures? 

We  are  perhaps  too  much  disposed  to  con- 
sider the  events  of  our  Savior's  life  in  immediate 
connection  with  His  crucifixion  as  isolated  facts, 
rather  than  in  their  connection  with  each  other. 
We  think  of  the  Passover  supper  in  an  isolated 
way.  So,  too,  of  the  agony  in  the  Garden  of 
Gethsemane,  the  scene  before  Caiaphas  and  the 


50         THE  BIBLE  SIGNIFICANCE 

trial  before  Pilate;  as  completed  facts  in  them- 
selves; when  we  ought  rather  to  consider  them 
as  parts  of  a  connected  whole  terminating  on 
Calvary,  and  the  Resurrection  and  the  Ascension ; 
as  fulfilling  types  and  symbols;  commenced  at 
the  eastern  gate  of  Eden,  continued  at  Bethel, 
the  Tabernacle,  the  Temple  and  the  Holy  land, 
and  culminating  when  in  "  leading  captivity  cap- 
tive," He  entered  the  New  Jerusalem,  the  Para- 
dise above,  opening  a  way  for  all  His  people  to 
once  more  enjoy  the  Tree  of  Life. 

St.  Paul  warrants  us  in  looking  upon  our 
Savior  as  a  second  Adam,  First  Corinthians  15th 
Chapter,  22d  Verse.  "  For  as  in  Adam  all  die 
even  so  in  Christ  shall  all  be  made  alive."  Ro- 
mans 5th  Chapter,  14th  Verse  "  who  (Adam) 
is  the  figure  of  Him  that  was  to  come."  May 
we  not  also  say  that  the  Holy  City  was  in  some 
sense  a  counterpart  of  Adam's  abode  while  sin- 
less? The  garden  of  Eden,  where  men  did  ac- 
tually commune  with  Jehovah,  not  only  in  the 
Temple  which  our  Savior  calls  "  my  Father's 
house,"  but  in  the  fact  that  the  glory  of  this 
Temple  far  exceeded  that  of  Solomon's  in  that 
the  prophecies  of  Haggai  and  Malachi  were 
fulfilled  where  they  said  the  glory  of  this  latter 
house  shall  be  greater  than  of  the  former.  Now 
with  this  thought  of  "  Adam  as  a  figure  of  Him 
that  was  to  come,"  and  this  thought  of  Jerusalem 
as  a  counterpart  of  Eden,  notice  the  wonderful 


OF  EAST  AND  WEST  51 

significance  of  what  occurred  immediately  after 
the  last  Passion  Supper.  The  Savior  had  formally 
announced  to  the  disciples  in  the  breaking  of 
bread,  saying  "  This  is  my  body  which  is  given  for 
you."  "  This  cup  is  the  New  Testament  in  my 
blood  which  is  shed  for  you,"  that  He  had  become 
their  substitute.  Where  is  it  before  so  plainly 
stated  as  at  this  Passion  Supper  and  the  institu- 
tion that  followed  it,  that  He  was  man's  substi- 
tute? Not  that  He  was  ever  aught  else,  even  in 
the  Cradle  in  Bethlehem,  yea  in  the  counsels  of 
eternity  when  He  said  "  Lo !  I  come ;  in  the  vol- 
ume of  the  Book  it  is  written  of  me  I  delight  to 
do  thy  will,  O  my  God,"  but  where  is  it  so  for- 
mally stated  as  here,  and  when  He  is  about  to 
perform  a  deeply  significant  act  fulfilling  a  sym- 
bolism that  reached  back  four  thousand  years? 
It  was  as  our  substitute  then,  as  "  Christ  our 
Passion,"  bearing  our  sin,  having  taken  the  place 
of  Adam  and  all  his  posterity  "  under  the  laws," 
that  this  "  second  Adam  "  said,  after  using  the 
words  "  this  is  my  body  given  for  you,"  ''  arise, 
let  lis  go  hence/'  and  passed  through  the  Eastern 
Gate  of  the  Holy  City,  taking  the  identical  direc- 
tion the  first  Adam  took  when  he  was  driven,  as 
a  sinner  from  Eden.  What  a  new  significance 
this  gives  to  Gethsemane!  It  was  no  fortu- 
itous occurrence.  As  our  substitute.  He  had 
now  presented  to  Him  in  immediate  prospect  the 
fearful  penalty  of  the  Law  that  the  first  Adam 


52         THE  BIBLE  SIGNIFICANCE 

had  broken  ''  in  the  day  thou  eatest  thereof  thou 
shalt  surely  die  "  Genesis  2d  Chapter,  17th  Verse. 
Once  more  the  Prince  of  Darkness,  who  had 
been  so  successful  in  defeating  the  first  Adam 
used  all  his  powers  to  cause  this  second  Adam 
to  ignore  the  Divine  will  and  prove  unbelieving 
and  disobedient,  but  He  had  "  learned  obedi- 
ence "  by  the  things  He  had  suffered  and  was 
able  to  say  with  three-fold  emphasis,  "  Not  my 
will,  but  Thine  be  done."  The  agony  was  over, 
the  victory  was  won  and  now  we  can  say 
"  Thanks  be  to  God  who  giveth  us  the  victory 
through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  He  now  al- 
lows the  multitude  to  take  Him  captive;  notice 
the  exact  account  of  John,  "  Jesus  therefore 
knowing  all  things  that  should  come  upon  Him 
went  forth  and  said  unto  them  '  Whom  seek 
ye  ? ' ;  prevents  Simon  Peter  from  defending 
Him;  reminds  him  of  the  twelve  Legions  of  An- 
gels He  had  at  His  command,  and  meekly  re- 
enters the  Holy  City  by  the  same  Eastern  Gate." 
But  to  return  to  Eden  meant  just  what  re- 
turning to  the  New  Eden  above  means;  freedom 
from  sin.  Revelation  21st  Chapter,  27th  Verse. 
"  And  there  shall  in  no  wise  enter  into  it  any- 
thing unclean,  or  he  that  maketh  an  abomination 
and  a  lie;  "  and  our  Savior  must  not  only  will- 
ingly bear  the  penalty,  but  as  our  substitute  He 
must  be  sinless.  This  is  the  keynote  to  an  un- 
derstanding of  the  trials  before  Caiaphas  and 


OF  EAST  AND  WEST  53 

Herod  and  Pilate.  What  He  seems  most  anxious 
to  do  before  all  His  judges  is  to  maintain  His 
freedom  from  all  wrong-doing.  With  this  in  view 
the  trial  before  Caiaphas  is  very  significant. 
His  claim  that  He  was  the  Son  of  God,  was 
drawn  out  by  the  extra  judicial  questioning  of 
the  High  Priest,  but  His  own  thoughts  seem 
to  have  revolved  about  the  idea  that  He  was  free 
from  Sin,  John  i8th  Chapter,  20th  and  21st 
Verses.  "  Jesus  answered  him  I  spoke  openly 
to  the  world,  I  ever  taught  in  the  synagogue  and 
in  the  Temple  whither  the  Jews  resort,  and  in 
secret  have  I  said  nothing."  He  was  accused  by 
false  witnesses,  but  neither  did  their  witnesses 
agree,  so  that  He  stood  before  Caiaphas  with- 
out a  fault.  Before  the  representative  of  Jeho- 
vah; the  High  Priest  of  the  Law  that  came  by 
Moses  and  that  was  written  on  tables  of  stone 
by  Jehovah  Himself,  He  claimed  to  be  free  from 
all  sin.  So  before  Pilate,  the  charge  was  sedi- 
tion and  making  Himself  a  King  to  the  over- 
throw of  the  authority  of  the  Roman  Emperor. 
But  Jesus  affirmed  that  His  Kingship  extended 
only  over  those  who  "  loved  the  Truth."  Pilate 
after  the  fullest  investigation,  as  Herod  under 
whose  rule  He  had  lived  all  His  life,  had  al- 
ready done  by  implication,  pronounced  Him 
guiltless  as  to  any  sin  against  the  State  so  that  in 
the  presence  of  all  Law,  human  and  Divine,  He 
was  pronounced  guiltless.     As  the  second  Adam 


54  THE  BIBLE  SIGNIFICANCE 

and  the  substitute  for  sinners  He  might  not  only 
enter  Eden,  if  it  had  then  existed,  but  had  now 
His  right  to  the  Tree  of  Life  in  the  Paradise 
above. 

Then  comes  the  sequel  to  the  agony  of  Geth- 
semane.  As  our  substitute  it  was  not  only  neces- 
sary to  have  kept  the  Law  perfectly,  it  was  also 
necessary  to  pay  the  dread  penalty  fore-shadowed 
in  the  garden  of  Gethsemane.  Bearing  our  sin, 
and  carrying  the  cross.  He  again  went  forth 
without  the  city  walls,  but  significantly  this  time, 
in  exactly  the  opposite  direction,  having  been 
pronounced  hoh^  Being  lifted  up  upon  the  cross 
and  having  said  "  It  is  finished,"  after  that  cul- 
minating cry  of  "  Eloi !  Eloi !  lama  sabachthani ;  " 
the  veil  of  the  Temple  was  rent  in  twain,  and  ac- 
cess was  made  into  the  Holy  of  Plolies;  into  the 
presence  of  the  Cherubim  who  guarded  the  gate 
at  Eden ;  by  a  new  and  living  way,  even  the  rent 
veil  of  our  Redeemer's  broken  body.  Yea  much 
more  an  entrance  into  the  "  presence  of  the 
Lord,"  symbolized  by  the  flaming  sword  at  the 
gate  of  Eden  that  guarded  "  the  way  to  the  tree 
of  life,"  for  now  all  who  accept  Him  as  their  sub- 
stitute are  pronounced  thus  blessed.  Revelation 
22d  Chapter,  14th  Verse,  "  Blessed  are  all  they 
that  do  His  commandments  that  they  may  have 
right  to  the  tree  of  life  and  may  enter  in  through 
the  gates  into  the  city."  Hebrews  9th  Chapter, 
25th    Verse,    ''  For   Christ   entered    not    into   a 


OF  EAST  AND  WEST  55 

Holy  place  made  with  hands  like  a  pattern  to 
the  true,  but  into  heaven  itself  now  to  appear  be- 
fore the  face  of  God  for  us,"  and  again  Hebrews 
loth  Chapter,  12th  Verse,  "but  He,  when' 
He  had  offered  one  sacrifice  for  sins  forever,  sat 
down  on  the  right  hand  of  God ;  from  henceforth 
expecting  that  His  enemies  be  made  the  foot- 
stool of  His  feet.  For  by  one  offering  He  hath 
perfected  forever  them  that  are  sanctified.  And 
the  Holy  Ghost  also  beareth  witness  to  us;  for 
after  He  hath  said: 

"  This  is  the  covenant  that  I  will  make  with  them 
After  those  days  said  the  Lord ; 
I  will  put  my  laws  on  their  hearts, 
And  upon  their  mind  also  will  I  write  them; 

And  their  sins  and  their  iniquities 

Will   I    remember  no  more. 
Now  where  remission  of  these  is 

There  is  no  more  offering  for  sin." 

This  last  emphatic  utterance  of  Inspiration, 
reminds  us  that  all  the  Holy  places  we  have  been 
considering  were  associated  with  the  idea  of  sac- 
rifice, an  ''  offering  for  sin."  Eden  and  the  of- 
fering of  Abel,  Bethel  and  the  altar  of  Abra- 
ham, the  Tabernacle  and  the  Temple  with  the 
ministration  of  the  Aaronic  priesthood,  the  Holy 
Land  and  the  morning  sacrifice  on  the  eastern 
side  of  Jordan,  but  does  this  hold  good  of  the 
Holy  City?     We  must  not  think  of  the  sacrifice 


56         THE  BIBLE  SIGNIFICANCE 

at  the  Temple,  as  a  testimony  to  this  idea  be- 
cause that  belonged  to  the  Holy  of  Holies. 
Where  shall  we  look  for  the  idea  of  sacrifice  in 
connection  with  the  Holy  City?  The  answer  is 
plain  and  yet  wonderful.  Just  as  the  Holy  City 
was  the  culmination  of  all  the  Holy  places  that 
preceded  it  if  we  must  except  Eden  of  which  it 
was  intended  to  be  the  counterpart,  and  the  last 
of  these  earthly  symbolism;  so  the  sacrifice  that 
w^e  always  associate  with  it  is  the  glorious  ful- 
filment of  all  the  symbolic  sacrificial  types.  In 
the  very  locality  made  sacred  by  the  offering  up 
by  Abraham  in  fullest  intention  of  his  only  son 
Isaac;  the  God  of  Abraham,  Isaac  and  Jacob, 
offered  up  very  really  "  His  only  begotten  and 
well-beloved  Son."  Himself  a  willing  sacrifice ; 
and  so  it  has  come  to  pass  Hebrews  9th  Chapter, 
15th  Verse,  "He  is  the  Mediator  of  a  new 
covenant,  that  a  death  having  taken  place  for  the 
Redemption  of  the  transgressions  that  were  under 
the  first  covenant,  they  that  have  been  called  may 
receive  the  promise  of  the  Eternal  inheritance." 

Our  Savior  said  to  the  penitent  thief,  "  this 
day  shalt  thou  be  with  i\Ie  in  Paradise,"  show- 
ing that  the  way  was  now  open  to  the  Tree  of 
Life." 

The  best  tradition  is  that  He  was  crucified  at 
the  western  Gate  of  the  City,  the  one  that  opened 
on  the  way  to  Joppa  and  the  West.  It  is  how- 
ever a  very  striking  fact  that  in  this  last  great 


OF  EAST  AND  WEST  57 

sacrifice  the  victim  did  not  face  any  earthly  Holy 
of  Holies  but  as  the  scriptures  say  ''  but  Christ 
having  come  a  High  Priest  of  the  good  things 
to  come,  through  the  greater  and  more  perfect 
tabernacle,  not  made  with  hands,  that  is  to  say 
not  of  this  creation,  nor  yet  through  the  blood 
of  goats  and  calves,  but  through  His  own  blood, 
entered  at  once  into  the  Holy  place,  having  ob- 
tained eternal  redemption  —  which  hope  we  have 
as  our  anchor  to  the  soul,  a  hope  both  sure  and 
steadfast  and  entering  into  that  which  is  within 
the  veil,  whither  as  our  fore-runner  Jesus  en- 
tered for  us." 

Paradise  Lost  and  Paradise  Regained.  Eden 
and  the  guilty  Adam  fleeing  through  that  Eastern 
gate  under  the  weight  of  the  penalty  — "  the  day 
thou  eatest  thereof  thou  shalt  surely  die,"  and 
four  thousand  years  after  the  second  xA.dam,  the 
Lord  from  heaven  "  holy,  harmless,  undefiled  and 
separate  from  sinners,"  returning  from  Geth- 
semane  through  the  eastern  gate  of  the  Holy 
City  to  suffer  that  penalty  in  His  own  body  on 
the  accursed  tree;  thus  gaining  for  all  who  ac- 
cept Him  as  their  substitute,  access  once  more  to 
the  "  tree  of  life." 

Is  not  this  wonderful  symbolism  an  evidence 
of  design?  It  extends  as  we  have  seen  up  to 
this  time  from  Adam  to  Christ,  and  as  we  shall 
see  in  another  form,  has  continued  from  His 
day   to   our   own.      How   will   Higher   criticism 


58         THE  BIBLE  SIGNIFICANCE 

account  for  this  deep-laid  object  lesson,  found 
in  the  five  books  of  Moses,  in  Kings,  in  prophe- 
cies, connected  in  the  continuous  developments 
of  the  plan  of  salvation,  woven '  like  a  thread 
of  gold,  and  with  it  the  idea  that  ''  with- 
out the  shedding  of  blood  there  is  no  remission," 
binding  together  the  Old  Testament  and  the 
New,  proving  its  Divine  origin  and  that  Holy 
men  not  only  spoke,  but  journeyed,  and  built 
altars,  and  temples  and  occupied  countries  and 
founded  cities  *'  as  they  were  moved  by  the  Holy 
Ghost?" 

What  will  our  Hebrew  brethren  do  with  this 
wonderful  symbolism  which  appeals  so  directly 
to  all  that  is  glorious  in  their  past  history? 
Their  greatest  claim  to  the  regard  and  love  of 
the  Gentile  world,  is  given  by  one  who  claimed 
himself  to  be  a  "  Hebrew  of  the  Hebrews,"  when 
he  put  it  on  record  in  writing  to  his  brethren  in 
Rome  '*  what  advantage  then  hath  the  Jew  ? 
Much  everyway;  first  of  all  that  they  were  in- 
trusted with  the  oracles  of  God ;  "  "  who  are 
Israelites;  to  whom  pertaineth  the  adoption,  and 
the  glory,  and  the  covenants,  and  the  giving  of 
the  law,  and  the  service  of  God,  and  the  prom- 
ises, whose  are  the  fathers,  and  of  whom  concern- 
ing the  flesh  Christ  came  who  is  over  all,  God 
blessed  forever."  What  will  they  do  with  the 
fact  that  Eden  and  the  altar  on  which  Abel  of- 
fered has  vanished;  that  Bethel  and  the  Altar  of 


OF  EAST  AND  WEST  59 

Abraham  is  no  more ;  that  the  Tabernacle  and  the 
Temple  with  all  their  wondrous  sacrifices  have 
not  been  in  existence  for  nearly  nineteen  hun- 
dred years ;  that  the  Holy  Land  is  holy  only  as  a 
memory ;  that  the  Holy  City  has  been  these  many 
centuries  a  synonym  for  the  tenets  of  a  false  re- 
ligion, the  possession  of  the  followers  of  Ma- 
homet ? 

These  are  serious  facts  that  need  an  explana- 
tion from  a  race  noted  for  its  mental  acumen. 
They  cannot  be  treated  as  doctrinal  enigmas. 
This  age  prides  itself  on  its  recognition  of  facts 
as  opposed  to  the  speculations  of  philosophy  and 
the  dogmas  of  theology  what  answer  will  it 
make  to  these  tangible  records  in  wood,  and 
stone;  graven  even  on  land  itself?  The  prophet 
Malachi  was  inspired  to  give  the  answer,  as  to 
why  this  all  occurred  and  this  will  occupy  our 
attention  in  the  next  chapter. 


CHAPTER  SIX 

THE    SUN    OF   RIGHTEOUSNESS 

Malachi  4,   2. 

"  But  unto  you  that  fear  my  Name,  shall  the  Sun  of 
Righteousness    arise    with    healing   in    His    wings." 

"From  the  rising  of  the  sun  even  unto  the  going  down 
of  the  same  my  Name  shall  be  great  among  the  Gentiles; 
and  in  every  place  incense  shall  be  offered  unto  my 
Name,  and  a  pure  offering:  for  my  Name  shall  be  great 
among  the  heathens,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts." 


61 


The  Heathen  World,   Known  and  Unknown  in  the  Time  of  Christ 


CHAPTER  SIX 

THE    SUN    OF   RIGHTEOUSNESS 

THE  significance  of  the  figure  used  as  above 
by  the  prophet  Malachi  is  emphasized  by 
the  fact  that  it  is  contained  in  the  closing 
words  of  the  old  Testament  revelation  which  as 
we  have  seen  was  a  revelation  based  upon  sym- 
bols, and  especially  on  symbols  connected  with 
sacrifice  and  is  not  used  in  any  other  place.  The 
light  up  to  that  time  had  been  dim,  the  twilight 
before  the  dawn,  the  prophetic  assurance  was, 
that  this  was  to  give  w^ay  to  a  more  glorious 
manifestation  of  spiritual  illumination.  And 
yet  we  have  connected  with  it  the  same  idea,  we 
have  been  considering  a  movement  from  East  to 
West.  The  history  of  the  progress  of  the 
church  since  the  ascension  of  Christ,  proves  that 
this  was  not  a  mere  figure  of  speech  on  the  part 
of  Malachi.  Not  more  certainly,  in  ordinary  hu- 
man speech,  does  the  rising  sun  begin  its  prog- 
ress in  the  east,  and  move  westward,  than  has 
and  does  the  progress  of  the  Church,  as  the  em- 
bodiment of  Christianity  follow  the  same  direc- 
tion in  gaining  conquests  for  her  ascended  Lord 

63 


64  THE  BIBLE  SIGNIFICANCE 

and  Master.  And  this  is  true  not  only  of  the 
past,  but  is  being  fulfilled  in  such  an  unmistak- 
able way  in  our  own  times  that  ''  he  that  runs 
may  read." 

The  parting  words  of  our  Savior,  as  He  left 
His  wondering  disciples  on  the  Mount  of  Ascen- 
sion, were,  ''  Go  into  all  the  world  and  preach 
the  gospel  to  every  creature,  beginning  at  Jeru- 
salem and  lo!  I  am  \Yith  you  always  even  to 
the  end  of  the  world."  No  direction  as  to 
whether  they  should  travel  east  or  west,  or  north 
or  south  was  given,  and  yet  at  the  very  out- 
start  after  leaving  Jerusalem  the  gospel,  moved 
westward.  From  a  human  standpoint  it  was 
only  natural  that  it  should.  Greek  civilization 
although  not  as  old  as  the  civilization  eastward 
beyond  the  Euphrates,  included  the  most  ad- 
vanced learning  of  the  times,  and  the  most  lib- 
eral forms  of  idolatry,  and  offered  an  open  door 
for  the  proclamation  of  the  new  religion.  In 
addition  to  this,  Jews  were  to  be  found  in  greater 
numbers  in  the  west  than  in  the  east,  although  we 
must  not  overlook  the  fact  that  in  the  days  of 
our  Savior  there  was  a  very  eminent  school  of 
the  prophets  beyond  the  Euphrates.  Many  Jews 
remained  in  those  countries  who  had  refused  to 
return  at  the  time  when  others,  released  from 
captivity  sought  the  land  of  their  fathers,  ac- 
counting for  the  fact  that  Paul  himself  at  one 
time  desired  to  preach  the  gospel  in  Asia.     Per- 


OF  EAST  AND  WEST  65 

haps  however  the  most  influential  school  of  the 
prophets  after  the  time  of  the  ascension  was  at 
Alexandria  in  northern  Egypt  on  the  shore  of  the 
Mediterranean;  and  Jews  in  large  numbers  were 
located  there  as  well  as  in  Greece  and  at  Rome 
and  even  far  to  the  west.  But  from  whatever 
cause,  we  soon  find  Saul  and  Barnabas  at  Antioch 
and  Peter  at  Joppa.  Asia  Minor  was  in  a  few 
years  filled  with  the  knowledge  of  ''  Jesus  and 
the  Resurrection."  Paul  especially  had  been 
very  active  and  successful.  A  glance  at  any 
good  map  of  his  first  and  second  missionary 
journey  will  show  how  he  journeyed  north  and 
south  and  east  and  west  in  Asia  Minor,  visiting 
the  provinces  of  Cappadocia,  Galatia,  Pamphyl- 
ia,  Pamplagonia  and  Phyrgia.  But  there  came 
a  time,  manifested  later,  also,  when  he  desired  to 
enter  in  his  enthusiastic  and  characteristic  way 
on  new  fields  of  conquest.  In  writing  to  Rome 
from  Corinth  afterward,  he  exhibited  the  spirit 
to  which  we  refer  when  he  said  — "  But  now 
having  no  more  place  in  these  parts,"  and  ex- 
pressing a  great  desire  to  have  some  fruit  among 
them  as  among  other  gentiles  and  in  another 
place  that  "  he  did  not  enter  into  other  men's  la- 
bors," but  sought  new  ones.  It  was  in  some 
such  spirit  as  this  that  we  are  to  interpret  Acts 
i6th  Chapter,  5th  to  7th  Verses,  *'  And  so  were 
the  churches  established  in  the  faith,  and  increased 
in   number   daily.     Now    when   they    had   gone 


66         THE  BIBLE  SIGNIFICANCE 

through  Phrygia  and  the  region  of  Galatia,  and 
were  forbidden  by  the  Holy  Ghost  to  preach  in 
Asia,  after  they  were  come  to  Mysia,  they  assayed 
to  go  into  Bythinia,  but  the  spirit  suffered  them 
not."  That  is  they  were  prevented  not  only  from 
preaching  the  gospel  in  Asia  but  prevented  from 
continuing  their  work  in  Asia  Minor.  Exception 
will  no  doubt  be  taken  to  this  statement  as  au- 
thorities are  not  agreed  that  Asia  in  this  connec- 
tion means  the  countries  east  of  Judea.  Any 
other  interpretation  however  ignores  the  fact  that 
for  several  years  Asia  Minor  had  been  the  scene 
of  very  persistent  labors  on  the  part  of  St.  Paul, 
and  not  only  of  his,  but  also  where  Peter  and 
Philip  and  others  had  preached  the  gospel. 
Good  authorities,  among  them  so  great  a  scholar 
as  S.  T.  Coleridge  express  the  opinion  that  Asia 
was  a  name  applied  to  the  land  beyond  the  Eu- 
phrates, and  that  it  was  so  known  in  the  time  of 
Paul.  That  it  was  a  very  populous  region  must 
also  have  been  known,  and  as  has  been  suggested 
many  Jews  lived  there,  and  Paul  in  true  Mes- 
sianic spirit  wanted  to  gain  fresh  conquests  for 
his  Master  in  that  direction,  but  as  we  have  seen 
he  was  forbidden  and  then  came  the  vision  of  the 
man  of  Macedonia,  Europe  instead  of  Asia,  the 
west  instead  of  the  east,  saying,  "  Come  over  and 
help  us."  And  after  he  had  seen  the  vision, 
"  immediately  we  endeavored  to  go  into  Mace- 
donia,  assuredly   gathering  that   the  Lord  had 


OF  EAST  AND  WEST  67 

called  us  for  to  preach  the  gospel  unto  them." 
It  is  certainly  a  significant  fact  that  we  have 
no  account  in  the  New  Testament  of  any  move- 
ment toward  preaching  the  gospel  east  of  Jeru- 
salem ;  certainly  no  church  is  mentioned  by  name. 
Even  early  tradition  only  very  dimly  associates 
the  name  of  the  apostle  Thomas  with  the  church 
of  Persia  and  the  western  coast  of  India.  It 
is  also  certainly  a  matter  of  history,  that  if  any 
movement  east  was  attempted  in  the  early  church 
it  ^  proved  unsuccessful,  much  like  the  Roman 
Catholic  attempts  to  Christianize  China,  India 
and  Japan.  But  in  striking  contrast  with  this  we 
have  the  Gospel  moving  westward  over  the  Con- 
tinent of  Europe  following  lines  of  longitude  and 
in  fifteen  hundred  years  the  conquest  was  com- 
plete. Africa  is  to  be  included,  because  it  was 
among  the  very  first  to  receive  the  New  Light. 
The  prophecy  of  the  Sixty-Eighth  Psalm,  that 
"  Ethiopia  shall  soon  stretch  out  her  hands  unto 
God  "  was  fulfilled  when  the  Treasurer  of  Queen 
Candace  was  converted  through  the  instrumen- 
tality of  Philip. 

We  are  so  much  accustomed  to  the  idea  of  the 
"  dark  continent "  in  connection  with  Africa  as 
to  be  in  danger  of  overlooking  the  fact  that 
for  many  centuries  after  the  Ethiopian  treasurer, 
converted  through  the  instrumentality  of  Philip, 
Africa  was  to  a  very  great  extent  the  abode  of 
a   Christian   civilization.     Dr,    Mosheim    in   his 


6S  THE  BIBLE  SIGNIFICANCE 

ecclesiastical  history  says  concerning  the  church 
in  Africa  in  the  middle  of  the  fourth  century, 
''  Toward  the  middle  of  the  century  a  certain 
person  named  Frumentius,  went  from  Egypt  to 
Abyssinia  or  Ethiopia.  He  made  known  among 
the  people  the  gospel  of  Christ  and  administered 
the  sacrament  of  baptism  to  their  King  and  to 
several  of  the  first  distinction  at  his  court.  As 
he  was  returning  into  Egypt  he  received  conse- 
cration as  the  first  bishop  of  the  Ethiopians  from 
Athanasis  and  this  is  the  reason  why  the  Ethi- 
opian Church  has  even  to  our  own  time,  been 
considered  the  daughter  of  the  Alexandrian 
from  which  it  also  receives  its  bishop."  It  is  well 
known  that  Africa  on  the  borders  of  the  Medi- 
terranean Sea,  was  a  very  influential  part  of  the 
church  in  the  first  centuries,  and  remained  so  un- 
til like  Asia  Minor  it  fell  under  the  power  of  the 
followers  of  Mahomet.  The  fact  that  it  is  to- 
day so  free  from  idolatry,  a  fact  that  has  surprised 
so  many  modern  explorers,  the  readiness  of  its 
inhabitants  to  receive  missionaries,  and  the  re- 
markable susceptibility  to  religion  of  the  Negroes 
in  the  United  States,  all  seem  to  point  to  the  fact 
that  Africa  must  not  be  placed  in  the  same  cate- 
gory as  Asia  so  far  as  a  knowledge  of  the  gospel 
is  concerned. 

Following  longitudinal  lines  in  Iceland  Chris- 
tianity was  legalized  in  the  year  looo.  Green- 
land was  discovered  by  an  Icelander  and  was 


OF  EAST  AND  WEST  69 

colonized  by  Christians  from  Iceland  about 
1 100.  Within  fifteen  hundred  years  therefore 
Christianity  was  the  acknowledged  religion  as  far 
as  the  30th  degree  of  longitude  from  Greenwich. 
Then  followed  the  discovery  of  North  and  South 
America  and  by  the  year  1800  Christianity  had 
extended  to  135th  degree  of  longitude.  In  1820 
the  Sandwich  Islands  were  first  visited  by  Amer- 
ican missionaries,  and  in  1825  the  Ten  Com- 
mandments were  proclaimed  as  the  foundation 
of  all  Law\  This  moved  the  line  of  longitude  to 
150°.  In  i860  New  Zealand  and  Australia  were 
occupied  by  English  Christians  moving  the  line 
of  longitude  to  135°  east. 

This  brings  us  to  Japan  and  the  Philippines. 
It  is  a  matter  of  current  history  how  rapidly  the 
conquest  of  Japan  and  the  Philippines  to  Chris- 
tianity has  been  since  Commodore  Perry's  visit 
in  1848.  Observe  how  rapidly  the  movement 
has  been  since  the  gospel  left  the  western  shores 
of  the  United  States.  Fifteen  hundred  years 
for  Europe  and  Africa,  only  three  hundred  years 
for  North  and  South  America.  Only  one  hun- 
dred years  for  the  Sandwich  Islands,  Australasia, 
Japan  and  the  Philippines.  A  glance  at  a  Aler- 
cator  Projection  map  of  the  world  shows  that 
out  of  the  360  degrees  of  the  Sun's  circuit  in 
twenty-four  hours,  there  remains  less  than  50 
degrees  to  go  over  until  the  Sun  of  Righteous- 
ness again  stands  over  Jerusalem,   from  which 


70  THE  BIBLE  SIGNIFICANCE 

point  it  started  some  eighteen  hundred  and  sev- 
enty years  ago. 

The  most  interesting  missionary  field  of  to-day 
is  conceded  to  be  China,  and  it  is  the  next  in  or- 
der to  receive  the  benefit  of  the  "  heafing  wings  " 
of  the  Sun  of  Righteousness.  Lift  up  your  eyes 
for  the  fields  are  already  white  for  the  harvest 
or  to  change  the  figure.  In  the  early  spring  we 
sometimes  have  a  twelve  inches  fall  of  snow,  but 
the  warm  rains  come  and  the  beams  of  the 
spring  sun  beat  upon  it  and  it  passes  away  quickly 
in  abundant  life-giving  streams.  So  China  has 
been  covered  with  gospel  truth  by  the  labors  of 
missionaries  for  seventy-five  years.  To  the  hu- 
man eye  the  effect  is  not  very  apparent  and  we 
wonder  what  will  thaw  these  cold  hearts  and 
brighten  up  this  impassive  people.  A  mission- 
ary of  seventeen  years'  service  in  China  says  he 
never  saw  an  unconverted  Chinaman  smile,  but  it 
only  needs  the  "  healing  wings  "  of  the  Sun  of 
Righteousness  to  bring  about  mighty  changes 
in  a  very  short  time.  This  is  the  best  prospect 
for  the  solution  of  the  yellow  peril,  for  we  need 
have  no  fear  if  we  have  to  deal  with  a  Christian- 
ized people. 

After  China  there  remains  only  India.  It  like 
China  is  permeated  with  the  gospel  and  in  due 
time  it  will  also  yield  its  religion  of  Caste  to  the 
brotherhood  of  Christianity.  Then  with  Persia's 
Nestorian  religion  the  way  is  open  for  the  com- 


OF  EAST  AND  WEST  yi 

pletion  of  that  wonderful  circuit  from  East  to 
West,  symbolized  as  we  have  seen  from  the  Gar- 
den of  Eden  to  our  own  day. 

The  writer  of  this  Book  is  not  a  Milleranian 
or  Second  Adventist,  and  he  has  no  opinion  to 
express  on  these  disputed  points,  but  the  concen- 
sus of  all  Christian  beliefs  is,  that  a  time  is  com- 
ing Avhen  men  "  shall  beat  their  swords  into 
ploughshares  and  their  spears  into  pruning  hooks 
and  Nations  shall  learn  war  no  more."  A  time 
coming  when  ''  Holiness  to  the  Lord  "  shall  be 
written  upon  the  bells  of  the  horses,  that  is  when 
all  traffic  in  a  commercial  way  shall  be  conducted 
in  the  spirit  of  Consecration.  A  time  coming 
when  none  need  say  unto  his  brother  "  Know  the 
Lord  for  all  shall  know  Him  from  the  least  to  the 
greatest."  Are  we  not  all  prepared  to  say  has- 
ten the  day,  and  to  rejoice  in  the  certainty  that 
the  Dawn  is  appearing? 

Prof.  Mellone  suggests  there  may  be  two  views 
held  as  to  "  The  Kingdom  of  God  "  in  the  world 
—  one  that  man  has  his  part  in  its  progress  in  the 
world ;  and  the  other  that  it  is  a  work  with  which 
God  has  entirely  to  do.  Our  Savior  evidently 
taught  this  latter  view.  That  the  Kingdom  itself, 
in  its  conception  and  introduction  into  the  world 
was  all  from  above.  He  taught  that  man's  duty 
consisted  in  preparing  himself  for  it  when  it  came 
to  him  or  he  came  to  it.  Our  Savior's  teaching 
is  wonderfully  confirmed  by  what  we  have  been 


72         THE  BIBLE  SIGNIFICANCE 

considering  concerning  the  wonderfully  ordered 
progress  of  this  Kingdom  in  the  world.  The 
work  of  the  Church  has  been  to  prepare  men  for 
its  reception. 

But  the  culmination  of  it  all  will  be  when  there 
is  a  New  Heaven  and  a  New  Earth  wherein 
dwelleth  righteousness,  and  this  brings  us  to  the 
consideration  of  the  seventh  Holy  Place  men- 
tioned in  the  scripture,  The  New  Jerusalem. 

It  is  no  doubt  to  this  culmination  our  Savior 
Himself  refers  in  Matthew  24th  Chapter  and 
27th  verse,  "  For  as  the  lightning  cometh  out 
of  the  East  and  shineth  even  unto  the  West ;  so 
shall  also  the  coming  of  the  Son  of  Man  be." 
This  is  generally  considered  to  refer,  not  to  the 
completion  of  the  circuit  of  the  Sun  of  Right- 
eousness which  we  have  been  considering,  but  to 
that  "  day  and  hour  which  no  man  knoweth,  no, 
not  the  angels  of  heaven,  but  the  Father  only  '* 
—  yet  there  is  a  strangely  similar  use  of  the 
words  East  and  West. 


What  Remains  to  be  Covered  by  the  Rays  of  the  Sun  of  Righteousness 


CHAPTER  SEVEN 

THE    NEW   JERUSALEM 

Revelation  21,  i  to  3. 

"And  I  saw  a  new  heaven  and  a  new  earth;  for  the 
first  heaven  and  the  first  earth  were  passed  away ;  and 
there   was  no  more   Sea. 

"  And  I  John,  saw  the  Holy  City,  New  Jerusalem,  com- 
ing down  out  of  heaven,  as  a  bride  adorned  for  her  hus- 
band. 

*'  And  I  heard  a  great  voice  out  of  heaven  saying,  Be- 
hold the  tabernacle  of  God  is  with  men,  and  He  will 
dwell  with  them,  and  they  shall  be  his  people,  and  God 
Himself  shall  be  with  them  and  be  their  God." 


73 


CHAPTER  SEVEN 

THE  NEW  JERUSALEM 

OUR  subject  brings  us  naturally  to  the  con- 
sideration of  the  seventh  and  last  Holy 
Place  mentioned  in  the  scriptures.  In  the 
loth  verse  of  21st  Chapter  of  Revelation,  the 
seer  of  Patmos  says,  "  and  he  carried  me  away  in 
the  spirit  to  a  great  and  high  mountain,  and 
showed  me  the  Holy  City,  New  Jerusalem  com- 
ing down  out  of  heaven  from  God  having  the 
glory  of  God;  having  a  wall  great  and  high; 
having  twelve  gates,  and  at  the  gates  twelve  an- 
gels; and  names  written  thereon,  which  are  the 
names  of  the  twelve  tribes  of  the  children  of 
Israel;  on  the  East  were  three  gates."  The 
statement  as  to  the  boundaries  of  the  city  begins 
therefore  in  this  suggestive  way  "  on  the  East 
three  gates  "  and  not  as  a  modern  map  maker 
would  have  commenced  "  on  the  North  three 
gates."  This  holy  place  unlike  those  we  have 
been  considering  could  be  entered  from  all  sides 
for  "  there  is  no  more  curse,"  and  yet  promi- 
nence is  evidently  given  to  the  gates  on  the  East. 
This  is  developed  still  more  clearly  in  the  name 
75 


76         THE  BIBLE  SIGNIFICANCE 

that  was  given  to  the  first  of  these  three  gates  on 
the  East.  As  we  have  seen  above  the  name  of  a 
Tribe  of  Israel  was  engraven  on  each  gate,  but 
strange  to  say,  these  are  not  given  in  the  order 
in  which  Jacob  named  and  blessed  his  Sons  in 
the  book  of  Genesis  49th  Chapter  5th  to  8th 
verses,  Reuben,  (first  born),  Simeon,  Levi, 
Judah  and  so  on.  The  order  in  naming  the  gates 
is  no  doubt  the  same  as  that  given  us  in  the  7th 
Chapter  of  Revelation  5th  verse,  where  Judah 
comes  first  and  then  Reuben.  The  first  gate  on 
the  east  was  named  Judah  as  if  forever  to  com- 
memorate that  Gate  from  which  the  "  Lion  of  the 
Tribe  "  issued  when  He  went  out  to  His  great 
conflict  with  the  Prince  of  Darkness  in  the  Gar- 
den of  Gethsemane.  It  is  further  significant 
when  we  remember  the  position  of  the  tribe  of 
Judah  in  the  encampment  in  the  wilderness, 
where  this  tribe  was  given  the  place  of  honor 
immediately  at  the  eastern  front  of  the  Taber- 
nacle. Numbers  2d  Chapter,  2d  and  3d  verses. 
Every  man  of  the  children  of  Israel  shall  pitch 
by  his  own  standard,  with  the  ensign  of  his 
father's  house ;  far  off  about  the  tabernacle  of  the 
congregation  shall  they  pitch,  and  on  the  east  side 
side  toward  the  rising  of  the  sun  shall  they  of  the 
standard  of  the  camp  of  Judah  pitch  throughout 
their  armies,"  next  comes  Issacher  and  Zebulon, 
while  Reuben  leads  the  encampment  on  the  south. 


OF  EAST  AND  WEST  77 

Are    these    merely    coincidences    or    suggestive 
facts  ? 

It  is  remarkable  with  reference  to  the  Holy 
places  referred  to  in  the  scripture,  that  they  have 
all  now  passed  away.  The  Garden  of  Eden  was 
followed  by  Bethel  (House  of  God).  Bethel 
gave  place  as  a  distinctly  holy  place  to  the  Taber- 
nacle, the  Tabernacle  to  the  Temple  at  Jerusa- 
lem; and  Canaan  as  the  Holy  Land,  and  Jerusa- 
lem as  the  Holy  City  have  ceased  to  be,  except 
as  glorious  reminders  of  a  wonderful  past. 
Neither  of  these  last  mentioned  even  belong  to 
the  chosen  people  of  God.  Their  significance  as 
Holy  Places  has  ''  vanished  away  "  in  the  expres- 
sive language  of  the  author  of  Hebrews,  and 
they  are  now  interesting  only  as  they  suggest  to 
those  who  visit  them,  the  names  and  scenes  and 
activity  of  by-gone  spiritual  giants,  Adam,  Abel, 
Abraham,  Moses  and  Aaron,  Joshua,  David  and 
David's  greater  Son.  And  yet  it  is  very  singular 
to  find  in  the  description  of  the  Seer  of  Patmos 
of  *'  The  New  Jerusalem  "  something  that  re- 
minds us  of  each  of  these  places,  as  though  it  was 
designed  to  give  us  a  blending  and  combined 
reminiscence  of  all  the  holy  places  of  the  past, 
and  thus  to  emphasize  their  reality  and  impor- 
tance. The  Garden  of  Eden  is  brought  back 
very  vividly  as  described  in  Genesis,  by  these 
words  of  Revelation,  22d  Chapter  2d  verse  "  In 
the  midst  of  the  street  of  it,  and  on  either  side 


78         THE  BIBLE  SIGNIFICANCE 

of  the  river,  was  the  tree  of  Hfe,  which  bare 
twelve  manner  of  fruits  and  yielded  her  fruit 
every  month;  and  the  leaves  of  the  tree  were  for 
the  healing-  of  the  nations;  and  there  shall  be  no 
more  curse,"  even  the  angels  that  guard  each 
gate  remind  us  of  the  watchful  Cherubim  at  the 
eastern  Gate  of  Eden,  but  they  are  now  relieved 
of  all  terror  by  the  assurance  "  Blessed  are  they 
that  do  His  commandment,  that  they  may  have 
right  to  the  tree  of  life  and  may  enter  through  the 
gates  into  the  city."  We  are  reminded  of 
Bethel  and  Jacob's  vision  there,  by  the  many  an- 
gels with  their  various  messages  ''  ascending  and 
descending  "  connecting  heaven  and  earth  as  by 
a  celestial  ladder.  The  Tabernacle  and  the 
Temple,  which  were  fashioned  by  Moses  accord- 
ing to  "  all  things  show  him  in  the  Mount  "  are 
represented  by  the  "  altar,"  and  the  "  smoke  of 
the  incense "  and  "  the  seven  trumpets,"  "  the 
tabernacle  of  testimony  "  the  seven  golden  candle- 
sticks, the  cherubim  and  "  the  Lamb  that  was 
slain."  Canaan  is  brought  vividly  to  our  recol- 
lection by  the  numbering  of  the  twelve  tribes  and 
their  names  engraven  upon  the  gates,  and  the 
Jerusalem  of  earth  which  as  we  have  suggested 
was  the  culmination  of  the  Holy  places  so  far  as 
this  world  is  concerned;  now  fades  away  into 
this  glorious  description  of  the  New  Jerusalem 
in  which  there  is  "  no  temple ;  for  the  Lord  God 
Almighty  and  the  Lamb  are  the  Temple  of  it, 


OF  EAST  AND  WEST  79 

and  the  city  hath  no  need  of  the  Sun,  neither  of 
the  moon  to  shine  in  it ;  for  the  glory  of  God  did 
Hghten  it,  and  the  Lamb  is  the  Light  thereof. 
And  the  nations  of  them  that  are  saved  sliall  walk 
in  the  Hght  of  it;  and  the  Kings  of  the  earth  do 
bring  their  glory  into  it." 

Surely  no  unprejudiced  mind,  Jew  or  Gentile, 
can  follow  the  line  of  this  development  from  the 
Garden  of  Eden,  on  through  nearly  four  thou- 
sand years  to  the  vision  on  Patmos ;  and  now  for 
nearly  nineteen  hundred  years  of  the  progress  of 
Christianity  in  the  direction  these  foreshadow- 
ings  indicate,  without  being  impressed  with  the 
evidence  of  design;  and  convinced  that  the  Holy 
Scriptures  are  indeed  no  "  cunningly  devised 
fable,"  but  as  they  claim  to  be  the  ''  word  of 
God  "  and  that  "  Holy  men  of  old  spoke  as  they 
were  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost."  Scientists 
agree  that  historical  facts  are  good  evidence, 
what  will  they  do  with  these  historic  facts?  If 
they  reply  Eden  is  not  an  historic  fact,  how  will 
they  explain  the  account  we  have  of  the  eastern 
entrances,  in  connection  with  historical  facts  that 
cannot  be  denied,  vouched  for  in  secular  history 
as  well  as  sacred ;  namely,  with  Bethel,  the  Taber- 
nacle, the  Temple  Jerusalem  and  Canaan  ?  What 
too  \\n\\  the  advocates  of  "  Higher  criticism,"  and 
those  so-called  liberal  Christians,  who  believe  the 
Garden  of  Eden  to  have  been  a  myth,  do  with  this 
connected      religious      foreshadowing     running 


8o         THE  BIBLE  SIGNIFICANCE 

through  the  five  books  of  Moses,  and  forming  an 
indissoluble  part  of  every  page  from  Genesis  to 
the  last  chapter  in  John's  gospel;  completed  in 
the  "  Sun  of  Righteousness,"  who  is  carrying  out 
the  symbolism  before  our  eyes  in  these  latter  days 
in  exact  accordance  with  what  is  written  from  the 
beginning  of  Acts  to  the  beginning  of  the  Reve- 
lation ? 

What  a  significance  is  given  to  the  Resurrec- 
tion and  the  Ascension  of  our  Lord,  a  doctrine 
made  so  prominent  by  the  early  apostles  when 
we  look  upon  them  as  the  connecting  links,  be- 
tween the  City  of  David,  as  the  culmination  of 
the  holy  places  of  the  past;  and  the  holy  Jerusa- 
lem to  which  our  Lord  ascended  in  the  presence 
of  the  disciples  from  Olivet;  making  the  Holy 
Scriptures  a  consistent  whole  showing  that  a 
"  new  and  living  way  "  has  been  indeed  opened 
and  "  we  are  come  unto  Mount  Zion,  and  unto 
the  city  of  the  living  God,  the  heavenly  Jerusa- 
lem, and  to  an  innumerable  company  of  angels, 
to  the  general  assembly  and  church  of  the  first 
body  who  are  enrolled  in  heaven  and  to  God 
the  Judge  of  all,  and  to  the  spirits  of  just  men 
made  perfect,  and  to  Jesus  the  Mediator  of  a  new 
covenant  and  to  the  blood  of  sprinkling  that 
speaketh  better  than  that  of  Abel." 

Revelation  14,  6. 

"  And  I  saw  another  Angel  fly  in  the  midst  of  heaven, 
having  the   everlasting  gospel   to  preach   unto  them  that 


OF  EAST  ANJJ  WEST  8i 

dwell   on    the    earth,    and   to    every   nation,   and   kmdred, 
and  tongue,  and  people." 

O'er  the   gloomy   hills   of  darkness, 

Cheered   by   no    celestial    ray, 
Sun  of  Righteousness  arising, 

Bring  the  bright,  the  glorious  day. 
Send   the   gospel 
To   the   earth's   remotest  bound. 


Kingdoms  wide  that  sit  in  darkness 
Grant   them   Lord !   the   glorious   light : 

And,  from  eastern  coast  to   western. 
May  the  morning  chase  the  night ; 
And    redemption 

Freely  purchased,  win  the  day. 


Fly  abroad,  thou  mighty  gospel ! 
Win  and  conquer,  never  cease, 
May   thy   lasting,  wide   dominions 
Multiply    and    still    increase; 
Sway  thy  scepter, 
Savior!   all  the  world  around. 

William  Williams, 
A.  D.  1791. 


CHAPTER   EIGHT 

THE    WHITE    STONE    AND    THE    NEW    NAME    WRITTEN 

Revelation  2,  17. 

"To  him  that  overcometh  to  him  will  I  give  of  the 
hidden  manna. 

"  And  I  will  give  him  a  white  stone,  and  upon  the  stone 
a  new  name  written,  which  no  man  knoweth  but  he  that 
receiveth  it." 


83 


CHAPTER  EIGHT 

THE   WHITE   STONE    AND  THE   NEW    NAME 
WRITTEN 

A  PERIODICAL  not  long  since  published  the 
following  account  of  an  important  discov- 
ery. A  farmer  in  one  of  the  Dutch  settle- 
ments of  southern  Africa  chose,  some  forty  years 
ago,  for  the  passage  of  scripture  at  family  wor- 
ship the  chapter  in  Revelation  where  this  passage 
occurs,  Revelation  2,  17.  *' To  him  that  over- 
cometh,  to  him  will  I  give  of  the  hidden  manna, 
and  I  will  give  him  a  white  stone,  and  upon  the 
stone  a  new  name  written,  which  no  one  knoweth, 
but  he  that  receiveth  it."  A  guest  from  a  distant 
part  of  the  country,  when  worship  was  concluded, 
remarked  that  the  "  white  stone  "  in  the  passage 
that  was  read,  reminded  him  of  the  stones  his 
children  played  with  at  home,  that  they  found  on 
the  banks  of  a  stream  nearby;  and  drawing  one 
from  his  pocket  showed  it  to  his  host  and  family. 
Another  guest  present,  who  was  an  expert  on 
precious  stones,  at  once  pronounced  it  a  valuable 
diamond,  and  within  thirty  days  from  that  time 
three  thousand  persons  were  searching  for  these 

85 


86  THE  BIBLE  SIGNIFICANCE 

precious  stones  in  what  has  since  proven  to  be 
the  most  extensive  diamond  mines  in  the  world. 

The  incident  is  interesting  as  to  the  sugges- 
tion, in  so  indirect  a  way  of  the  similarity  of  the 
two  terms,  a  "  white  stone  "  and  a  diamond.  We 
see  at  once  however  how  appropriate  the  compar- 
ison is,  as  light  is  white  and  a  diamond  is  even 
scientifically  considered  chrystalized  carbon,  or 
light.  Did  the  risen  Lord  when  He  talked  with 
John  in  beatific  vision  have  a  diamond  in  His 
thought  ?  —  Yea,  even  a  particular  diamond. 

The  connection  in  which  the  gift  occurs  is  very 
suggestive.  *'  To  him  will  I  give  of  the  hidden 
manna."  Manna  we  always  very  naturally  asso- 
ciate with  the  journey  of  the  Children  of  Israel 
in  the  wilderness.  It  came  down  like  round  par- 
ticles of  frost  from  heaven  every  morning,  ex- 
cept the  morning  of  the  Sabbath.  But  this  daily 
blessing  could  not  in  any  sense  be  called  ''  hid- 
den "  manna,  seeing  that  it  was  openly  visible  to 
millions  of  people,  who  depended  upon  it  as  the 
"  staff  of  life."  As  a  memorial  of  this  great 
gift,  however,  Moses  was  commanded  to  fill  a 
vessel  with  it  and  either  to  place  it  within,  or  in 
some  receptacle  on  the  outside,  of  the  Ark  of  the 
Covenant  in  the  Holy  of  Holies. 

Exodus  i6,  55  and  ^4. 

"  And  Moses  said  unto  Aaron,  take  a  pot,  and 
put  an  omerful  of  manna  therein,  and  lay  it  up 


OF  EAST  AND  WEST  87 

before  the  Lord,  to  be  kept  for  your  generations. 
As  the  Lord  commanded  Moses,  so  Aaron  laid 
it  up  before  the  Testimony,  to  be  kept."  Now 
no  one  was  permitted  to  enter  the  Holy  of  Holies 
where  this  "  hidden  manna  "  was  kept,  but  the 
High  Priest,  and  he  but  once  a  year,  when  he 
came  in  an  appointed  way  bringing  with  him  the 
blood  of  the  sacrifice.  This  manna  could  be  very 
properly  called  "  hidden."  It  was  visible  to  no 
one  but  the  High  Priest,  and  absolutely  hidden 
from  all  Israel.  The  promise  of  our  Savior  then 
appears  to  be,  so  far  as  this  gift  of  "  hidden 
manna  "  is  concerned,  that  His  people  who  re- 
main faithful  will  be  permitted  to  enter  the  Holy 
of  Holies  above ;  of  which  that  in  the  Tabernacle 
was  but  the  shadow;  through  their  union  with 
their  Great  High  Priest,  who  has  not  only 
passed  into  the  heavens  Himself  but  made  a  way 
for  them  also. 

Hebrews  p,  24. 

''  For  Christ  entered  not  into  a  holy  place, 
made  with  hands,  like  in  pattern  to  the  true;  bur. 
into  heaven  itself,  now  to  appear  before  the  face 
of  God  for  us."  The  manna  may  symbolize  the 
provision  made  in  heaven  for  sustaining  the 
spiritual  strength  of  His  people,  just  as  the 
manna  in  the  wilderness  sustained  the  bodily 
strength  of  all  who  partook  of  it.  It  implied 
also  that  they  have  full  access  into  the  very  Holy 


88         THE  BIBLE  SIGNIFICANCE 

of  Holies  in  heaven,  much  more  free  than  the 
access  of  Aaron  when  the  Tabernacle  was  stand- 
ing; for  they  are  permitted  to  be  there  contin- 
ually. The  train  of  thought,  then,  in  which  the 
'*  white  stone ''  occurs  is  evidently  in  connection 
with  the  Holy  of  Holies  of  the  Tabernacle  and 
the  Temple. 

Another  duty  of  the  High  Priest  was  to  inquire 
of  the  Lord  before  the  veil  that  separated  the 
Holy  of  Holies  from  the  Holy  Place.  When  he 
did  this,  he  must  be  arrayed  in  a  peculiar  way, 
for  while  there  were  three  articles  of  his  dress 
that  were  like  the  dress  of  the  priests,  who  as- 
sisted him,  he  wore  three  articles  that  belonged  to 
him  as  High  Priest  alone;  and  that  could  not 
be  worn  by  any  other.  First,  there  was  the 
Ephod  —  that  is  two  onyx  stones  set  in  gold  and 
attached  to  blue  and  purple  fine  twined  linen  and 
worn  one  on  each  shoulder.  Six  names  of  the 
Tribes  were  engraven  on  one  stone  and  six  on 
the  other.  Second,  The  Robe,  made  entirely  of 
blue  fine  twined  linen,  and  fitting  his  body  closely 
descending  to  his  knees;  and  Third,  what  we  are 
especially  interested  in  at  this  time:  a  breast- 
plate. This  w^as  also  of  blue  and  purple,  and  had 
attached  to  it,  in  some  way,  twelve  precious 
stones,  arranged  in  four  rows  and  set  in  gold. 
On  each  of  these  stones  the  name  of  one  of  the 
tribes  of  Israel  was  engraved. 


OF  EAST  AND  WEST  89 

Exodus  28,  21. 

*'  And  the  stones  shall  be  according  to  the 
names  of  the  Children  of  Israel,  twelve,  accord- 
ing to  their  names;  like  the  engraving  of  a  sig- 
net, every  one  according  to  his  name,  they  shall 
be  for  the  twelve  tribes."  The  High  Priest  not 
only  represented  Jehovah  in  the  eyes  of  Israel; 
in  the  eyes  of  Jehovah,  he  represented  the  people ; 
and  bore,  as  it  were,  the  twelve  tribes  on  his 
shoulders  when  he  went  to  inquire  of  Jehovah,  as 
to  His  will;  and  bore  them  upon  his  breast  as 
well.  Now  our  Savior  seems  to  promise  that 
those  who  "  overcome  "  shall  stand  in  the  pres- 
ence of  Jehovah  on  high.  They  shall  have  what 
was  symbolized  by  this  breast  plate  of  the  High 
Priest ;  but  instead  of  twelve  stones  there  will  be 
but  one  and  it  shall  be  a  zi'hite  stone.  Now  can 
we  discover  the  white  stone  in  the  High  Priest's 
breastplate,  and  the  name  upon  it  ? 

Exodus  S9,  8  and  14. 

'*  And  he  made  the  breastplate  of  cunning 
work,  like  the  work  of  the  Ephod ;  of  gold,  blue, 
and  purple  and  scarlet  and  fine  twined  linen.  It 
was  four  square;  they  made  the  breastplate 
double,  a  span  was  the  length  thereof,  and  a  span 
the  breadth  thereof,  being  doubled.  And  they 
set  in  it  four  rows  of  stones.  The  first  row  was 
a  sardius,  a  topaz  and  a  carbuncle;  this  was  the 


90         THE  BIBLE  SIGNIFICANCE 

first  row;  and  the  second  row,  an  emerald,  a 
sapphire,  and  a  diamond;  and  the  third  row  a 
Hgure,  an  agate,  and  an  amethyst;  and  the 
fourth  row,  a  beryl,  an  onyx  and  a  jasper,  these 
were  inclosed  in  ouches  of  gold  in  their  inclosings. 
And  the  stones  were  according  to  the  names  of 
the  Children  of  Israel,  twelve,  according  to  their 
names;  like  the  engraving  of  a  signet,  every  one 
according  to  his  name,  for  the  twelve  tribes." 
Now  what  is  the  correct  list  of  the  twelve  tribes 
by  seniority?  Jacob  himself  gives  it  in  the  day 
that  he  blessed  them  and  prophetically  disclosed 
the  characteristics  of  each.  It  is  in  the  49th  Chap- 
ter of  Genesis,  and  this  is  the  order :  Reuben,  Si- 
meon, Levi,  Judah,  Zebulun,  Issachar,  Dan,  Gad, 
Asher,  Naphtali,  Joseph  and  Benjamin.  Or  to 
carry  out  the  idea  of  the  breast  plate,  and  ob- 
serving the  order  given,  and  writing  the  names 
from  right  to  left  according  to  Hebrew  writing, 
we  have  the  result  shown  on  page  91. 

The  Diamond  had  engraven  upon  it  the  name 
of  Judah,  of  whom  Jacob  says  in  prophetic  ut- 
terance : 

Genesis  4g,  8  and  10. 

"Judah  thee   shall  thy  brethren  praise; 
Thy  hand  shall  be  upon  the  neck  of  thine  enemies; 
Thy  father's  sons  shall  bow  down  before  thee. 
Judah  is  a  lion's  whelp; 
From  the  prey,  my  son,  thou  art  gone  up ; 
He  stooped  down,  he  couched  as  a  lion, 


OF  EAST  AND  WEST  91 

Levi  Simeon  Reuben 


Sardius                         Topaz                       Carbuncle 
Issachar                     Zebulun                        Judah 

Emerald                    Sapphire                    Diamond 
Asher                          Gad                            Dan 

Ligure                         Agate                      Amethyst 
Benjamin                     Joseph                       Naphtali 

Beryl 


Onyj 


Jasper 


And  as  a  lioness;  who  shall  rouse  him  up? 

The  scripture  shall  not  depart  from  Judah, 

Nor  the  rulers'  staff  from  between  his  feet, 

Until  Shiloh  come ; 

And  unto  him  shall  the  obedience  of  the  people  be." 

And  answering  back  through  all  the  ages  is 
the  voice  from  amidst  the  throng  on  high  as  John 
heard  it  on  the  isle  of  Patmos.  Revelation  5, 
3  and  5. 

'*  And  no  one  in  the  heaven,  or  on  the  earth, 
or  under  the  earth,  was  able  to  open  the  book, 


92         THE  BIBLE  SIGNIFICANCE 

or  to  look  thereon.  And  I  wept  much,  because 
no  one  was  found  worthy  to  open  the  book, 
or  to  look  thereon;  and  one  of  the  elders  saith 
unto  me,  *  Weep  not ;  behold  the  Lion  that  is 
of  the  tribe  of  Judah,  the  Root  of  David,  hath 
overcome  to  open  the  book,  and  the  seven  seals 
thereof.'  "  May  we  not  then  believe  that,  as 
the  manna  symbolized  the  constant  supply  of 
spiritual  strength  His  people  will  receive  in 
heaven,  so  this  most  precious  of  all  stones,  symbol 
of  light,  itself  chrystalized  light,  scientifically 
chrystalized  carbon,  typifies  the  spiritual  illumina- 
tion His  people  will  receive,  and  the  "  new  name  " 
written  upon  it  the  way  in  which  they  are  per- 
mitted at  all  times  to  approach  into  the  presence 
of  Jehovah  Himself? 

BUT  WHAT  IS  THE, NAME  THAT  WILL 
TAKE  THE  PLACE  OF  THE  NAME  OF 
JUDAH? 

The  names,  Lord,  Jesus,  Christ,  are  of  course 
Hebrew  in  their  origin,  and  like  all  Hebrew 
names  are  significant.  The  Old  Testament 
abounds  in  illustrations  of  this  fact.  The  very 
first  name  Adam  — ''  out  of  the  earth."  Call 
him  Moses  said  Pharaoh's  daughter,  "  because 
I  drew  him  out  of  the  water."  Samuel,  "  asked 
of  the  Lord."  It  is  generally  admitted  that  the 
three  names  or  titles  of  our  Lord  represent  the 


OF  EAST  AND  WEST  93 

three  offices  He  executes  as  the  Redeemer  of 
His  people.  Christ  our  Prophet,  to  teach  us, 
and  to  reveal  the  will  of  God  for  our  Salvation, 
although  we  cannot,  of  course,  dissociate  any  of 
these  titles  from  His  work,  as  God-man,  Me- 
diator; yet  as  He  appeared  among  men,  and  as 
men  recognized  Him,  as  a  man,  or  as  a  prophet, 
or  as  King,  we  may  also  thus  recognize  Him. 
Jesus,  as  the  angel  who  brought  His  name  said : 
Call  Him  Jesus,  for  He  shall  save  His  people 
from  their  sins."  But  He  did  this  by  offering 
Himself,  High  Priest  and  sacrifice  in  one,  so 
Jesus  represents  to  us  His  High  Priestly  office. 
Lord,  representing  His  Kingly  office,  ruling  in 
and  reigning  over  all  His  people.  Not  merely 
this,  but  owner,  master,  disposer.  Now  very 
appropriately  we  find  these  three  titles  used  to- 
gether, generally,  after  His  resurrection,  and 
when  He  became  all  these  things  to  His  church 
by  actual  fulfillment.  But  it  is  quite  interesting 
to  observe  that  we  never  do  find  them  connected 
together  in  the  gospels,  or  eyen  any  two  of  them, 
except  in  the  title  of  Matthew's  gospel.  It  is 
either  Jesus  alone,  or  Lord  alone,  or  Christ  alone. 
It  is  also  remarkable  that  among  the  many  names 
given  Him  in  the  Old  Testament,  such  as  "  Lion 
of  the  tribe  of  Judah,"  "  Shiloh,"  "  stem  of 
Jesse,"  "  wonderful,"  "  counsellor,"  "  Prince  of 
Peace,"  neither  Jesus  nor  Christ  is  mentioned. 
Perhaps  this  is  to  be  accounted  for  by  the  fact 


94         THE  BIBLE  SIGNIFICANCE 

that  Jesus  was  the  name  by  which  He  was  to  be 
known  as  a  "  man  among  men."  Christ  was  His 
title  as  the  Messiah  and  was  not  given  until  He 
came.  We  must  however  except  the  title  Lord, 
for  we  have  our  Savior's  own  endorsement  of  a 
Messianic  Psalm  in  which  it  was  used. 

Luke  20,  41  and  44. 

"  And  he  said  unto  them.  How  say  they  that 
the  Christ  is  David's  son?  For  David  himself 
saith  in  the  book  of  Psalms : 

The  Lord  said  to  my  Lord, 
Sit   thou    on   my    right   hand, 
Till   I   make   thine   enemies    the    footstool   of  thy 
feet. 

David  therefore  calleth  him  Lord,  and  how  is 
he  His  son?"  The  title  "son  of  David,"  car- 
ried with  it  the  idea  of  a  King, —  but  Lord  still 
more  so,  so  that  we  are  warranted  in  considering 
our  Savior's  title  Lord,  as  meaning  King,  in- 
cluding owner,  master  and  disposer,  and  we  shall 
■  always  use  it  in  this  sense. 

Let  us  now  take  up  the  names  of  our  Lord  in 
the  order  given  by  Paul  in  his  letter  to  the  Co- 
rinthians in  the  old  version.  First  Corinthians,  i 
and  2,  ''  with  all  that  in  every  place  call  upon 
the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord,  both  theirs 
and  ours."  These  names  being  significant, 
should  be  used  appropriately  if  the  persons  who 


OF  EAST  AND  WEST  95 

used  them  understood  their  meaning".  If  we  find 
them  so  used  we  have  an  indirect  proof  that  the 
scriptures  are  what  they  profess  to  be:  a  history 
of  current  events  in  the  Hfe  of  one  who  trod  this 
earth  of  ours,  a  ''  man  among  men,"  and  who  yet 
spake  as  man  never  spake,  and  w^ilUng-ly  and  in- 
telHgently  offered  Himself  a  sacrifice  for  human 
guilt.  Claiming  to  fulfill  in  Himself  ancient  types 
and  prophecies,  which  may  be  summed  up  in 
these  three,  a  High  Priest,  like  Aaron ;  a  Prophet, 
like  Moses;  a  King,  like  David.  We  will  con- 
sider the  gospels  first. 

Jesus  : 

Matthew  i,  21, 

"  And  thou  shalt  call  his  name  Jes^is,  for  it  is 
He  that  shall  save  His  people  from  their  sins." 
Jesus  is  here  expressly  given  to  be  the  name  by 
which  He  should  be  known  by  His  Mother,  and 
the  members  of  His  household,  and  among  men, 
as  He  took  His  place  in  the  discharge  of  the 
active  duties  of  life,  and  yet  it  carries  with  it 
the  significance  of  a  Savior,  a  human  Savior, 
who  took  our  place;  but  this  does  not  prevent 
Him  from  being  as  He  really  is  also  a  Divine 
Savior.  Notice  as  something  quite  remarkable 
that  this  was  the  only  name  by  which  our  Sa- 
vior was  known  for  thirty  years  of  His  life. 
We  have  the  record  only  up  to  the  time  He  was 


96  THE  BIBLE  SIGNIFICANCE 

twelve  during  this  period,  and  there  is  certainly 
no  mention  of  Christ  or  Lord  in  connection  with 
these  years. 

Matthew  i,  2^. 

"And  he  (i.  e.  Joseph)  called  His  name  Je- 
susr 

Luke  2,  ^2. 

And  Jesus  advanced  in  wisdom  and  stature, 
and  in  favor  with  God  and  men. 

Luke  2,  4^. 

"  And  when  they  had  fulfilled  the  day,  as  they 
were  returning,  the  boy  Jesus,  tarried  behind  in 
Jerusalem."  And  with  this  well  known  inci- 
dent at  the  temple,  when  our  Savior  was  twelve, 
His  history  closes  until  He  was  thirty.  But 
when  He  comes  after  these  years  of  quiet,  humble 
living  in  Nazareth,  to  enter  upon  His  public 
ministry  this  name  Jesus  is  once  more  brought 
forward. 

Matthezv  j,  /j. 

"  Then  cometh  Jesus  from  Galilee  to  the  Jor-  ' 
dan  unto  John  to  be  baptized  of  him." 

Mark  I,  p. 

"  Jesus  came  from  Nazareth  of  Galilee  and 
was  baptized  of  John  in  Jordan."  This  was  the 
name  then  by  which  He  was  known  all  these 


OF  EAST  AND  WEST  97 

years  in  Nazareth.  Not  as  the  Christ  for  He 
had  not  yet  made  known  His  message  or  claimed 
the  office  of  Messiah;  not  Lord,  for  He  was  not 
yet  ready  to  claim  His  Kingship.  But  His  of- 
fice of  Savior  is  the  essential  thing,  and  this  is 
always  associated  with  His  humanity.  He  recog- 
nized His  place  as  our  substitute  under  the  Law, 
by  consenting  to  a  public  baptism,  but  if  any 
name  was  used  in  this  service  to  designate  Him, 
as  with  us,  it  was  His  human  name  Jesus.  So 
the  record  is: 

Luke  S,  21. 

"  Now  it  came  to  pass,  when  all  the  people 
were  baptized,  that,  Jesus  also  having  been  bap- 
tized and  praying,  the  heaven  was  opened  and 
the  Holy  Ghost  descended  in  a  bodily  form,  as 
a  dove,  upon  Him,  and  a  voice  came  out  of 
heaven,  *  Thou  art  my  beloved  Son ;  in  Thee,  I 
am  well  pleased.'  " 

What  a  comforting  thought  that  this  approval 
came  upon  the  man  Jesus,  "  bone  of  our  bone  and 
flesh  of  our  flesh;"  our  Savior  from  sin;  and 
John  so  points  Him  out  the  next  day: 

John  I,  2g. 

"On  the  morrow  he  (i.  e.  John  the  Baptist) 
seeth  Jesus  coming  unto  him,  and  saith,  '  Be- 
hold the  Lamb  of  God,  which  taketh  away  the 
sin  of  the  world.' "  When  our  Savior  was 
tempted,  it  was  as  Jesus, 


98         THE  BIBLE  SIGNIFICANCE 
Matthew  4,  I. 

"  Then  was  Jesus  led  up  of  the  Spirit  into 
the  wilderness  to  be  tempted  of  the  devil." 

Luke  4,  4. 

"  And  Jesus  answered  unto  him,  '  It  is  written, 
Man  shall  not  live  by  bread  alone.'  " 

Luke  4,  14. 

"  And  Jesus  returned  in  the  power  of  the 
spirit  into  Galilee."  This  was  after  His  victory. 
But  observe  that  there  is  no  mention  by  either 
Matthew  or  Luke,  that  it  was  Christ  that  was 
tempted,  or  the  Lord :  although  as  we  have  said, 
He  was  always  both  Lord  and  Christ  as  He  now 
is;  yet  in  this  narrative  there  is  a  consistent 
reference  to  the  fact  that  He  was  tempted  in  the 
human  form  indicated  by  His  human  Name.  It 
was  Jesus  who  repulsed  Satan;  and  who  all  His 
life  "  was  tempted  like  as  we  are  yet  without 
sin."  But  while  Christ  represents  no  doubt,  the 
prophetic  office  of  our  Savior,  it  is  reserved  for 
the  apostles  to  use  this  term  with  reference  to 
His  teachings.  For  the  most  part,  any  reference 
to  our  Savior  where  He  was  Himself  on  earth, 
either  to  His  teachings  or  miracles,  is  in  the 
name  of  Jesus.  And  this  seems  the  natural  way 
to  express  it.  Because  He  had  left  His  carpen- 
ter's bench,  and  had  become  a  Rabbi,  was  no 


OF  EAST  AND  WEST  99 

reason   why   He   should   not  still  be  known  as 
Jesus  of  Nazareth. 

Matthew  4,  ly. 

"  From  that  time  began  Jesus  to  preach,  and 
to  say  '  Repent  ye ;  for  the  Kingdom  of  heaven 
is  at  hand.'  " 

Matthew  y,  28  and  2g>, 

"  And  it  came  to  pass,  when  Jesus  ended  these 
words,  the  multitudes  were  astonished  at  His 
teaching,  for  He  taught  them  as  one  having 
authority  and  not  as  the  scribes."  In  this  name 
He  wrought  miracles. 

John  2,  II, 

"  This  beginning  of  His  signs  (referring  to  the 
miracle  of  turning  water  into  wine)  did  Jesus 
in  Cana  of  Galilee,  and  manifested  His  glory." 
So  all  the  writers  without  exception  refer  to  all 
miracles  as  not  having  been  wrought  by  the  Lord 
or  by  Christ,  but  by  Jesus.  But  Jesus  also  for- 
gave sins,  as  the  son  of  Man. 

Matthew  g,  2. 

"  And  Jesus  seeing  their  faith,  said  unto  the 
sick  of  the  palsy,  '  Son  be  of  good  cheer ;  thy 
sins  are  forgiven.'  "  As  a  sympathizing  Savior, 
He  is  also  thus  known: 


lOO       THE  BIBLE  SIGNIFICANCE 

Luke  i8,  i6. 
"  But   Jesus   called   them   unto    Him,    saying 

*  Suffer  the  little  children  to  come  unto  me  and 
forbid  them  not.'  " 

John  II,  J7. 
Jesus  Wept. 

But  above  all  as  our  Savior,  in  His  office  of 
High  Priest,  He  suffered  in  this  name. 

Matthew  26,  36. 

"  Then  cometh  Jesus  with  them  unto  a  place 
called  Gethsemane,  and  saith  unto  His  disciples, 

*  Sit  ye  here,  while  I  go  yonder  and  pray.'  " 

Matthew  26,  4. 

"  And  they  took  counsel  together  that  they 
might  take  Jesus  by  subtilty  and  kill  Him." 

Matthew  26,  ^0. 

"  Then  they  came  and  laid  hands  on  Jesus,  and 
took  Him." 

Mark  15,  15. 

"  And  Pilate  wishing  to  content  the  multitude, 
released  unto  them  Barabbas,  and  delivered  Jesus 
when  He  had  scourged  Him  to  be  crucified." 

John  7p,  18. 

"  Where  they  crucified  Him  and  with  Him  two 
others,  on  either  side  one,  and  Jesus  in  the 
midst." 


OF  EAST  AND  WEST  loi 

Luke  2^,  4. 

"  And  when  Jesus  had  cried  with  a  loud  voice, 
He  said,  '  Father  into  Thy  hands  I  commend  my 
spirit.'  "  Surely  this  dwelling  upon  His  human 
name,  was  no  fortuitous  circumstance.  No  ref- 
erence to  the  Messiah,  no  reference  to  Him,  as 
King,  except  indeed  in  the  superscription  on  His 
cross,  conceived  by  a  Roman  Governor,  and  even 
this  is  in  connection  with  Jesus  of  Nazareth. 
It  was  as  a  human  Savior  He  suffered  in  our 
place.  But  it  was  Jesus  also  who  rose  from  the 
dead. 

John  20,  12. 

"And  she  (i.  e.  Mary)  beholdeth  two  angels 
in  white  sitting,  one  at  the  head,  and  one  at  the 
feet,  where  the  body  of  Jesus  had  lain." 

Acts  17,  18. 

Paul  on  Mars  Hill  — "  Because  he  preached 
Jesus  and  the  Resurrection." 

Romans  8,   11. 

"  But  if  the  spirit  of  Him  that  raised  up  Jesus 
from  the  dead." 

/  Thess.  4,  14. 

"  For  if  we  believe  that  Jesiis  died  and  rose 
again,  even  so  them  also  that  are  fallen  asleep 
in  Jesus  will  God  bring  with  Him."  Surely  we 
are  ready  to  exclaim, 


102        THE  BIBLE  SIGNIFICANCE 

"  How  sweet  the  name  of  Jesus  sounds 
In  a  believer's   ear, 
It  soothes  his  sorrow,  heals  his  wounds 
And  drives  away  his  fear." 

Newton. 

Christ: 

It  is  quite  remarkable,  that  as  the  human 
name  of  our  Savior,  was  first  announced  by  an 
angel  from  heaven ;  so  the  other  titles,  "  Christ 
and  Lord  "  were  first  announced  by  angels.  This 
does  not  imply  that  the  Jews  were  not  familiar 
with  these  names,  but  that  the  angels  were  the 
first  to  use  them  with  reference  to  a  particular 
person. 

Luke  2,  II. 

"  For  there  is  born  to  you  this  day  in  the  city 
of  David  a  Savior,  which  is  Christ  the  Lord/' 
The  name  Christ,  however  is  always  significantly 
used.  A  Messiah  was  the  hope  of  Israel ;  "  for 
which  prophets  and  Kings  had  waited  long  but 
died  without  the  sight." 

Matthew  2,  4. 

"  And  gathering  together  all  the  chief  priests 
and  scribes  of  the  people,  he  (i.  e.  Herod)  in- 
quired of  them  where  the  Christ  should  be  born," 
—  observe  not  Jesus  but  the  Christ.  Devils 
knew  Him,  not  as  Jesus,  but  as  Christ. 


OF  EAST  AND  WEST.  103 

Luke  4,  41. 

"  And  rebuking  them  (that  is  the  devils)  He 
suffered  them  not  to  speak,  because  they  knew 
He  was  the  Christ."  The  High  Priest  adjured 
Him  when  He  was  being  tried  for  His  life. 

Matthew  26,  (5j. 

"  I  adjure  thee  by  the  living  God,  that  thou 
tell  us  whether  Thou  be  the  Christ,  the  Son  of 
God." 

The  rabble  evidently  associated  the  idea  of  a 
Prophet,  with  this  title  for  they  said : 

Matthew  26,  68. 

"  Prophesy  unto  us,  thou  Christ ;  who  is  it 
struck  Thee  ?  "  and  John  in  closing  his  gospel 
says: 

John  20,  J  J. 

"  But  these  are  written,  that  ye  may  believe 
that  Jesus  is  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God;  and 
that  believing,  ye  may  have  life  through  His 
name."  Our  Savior  Himself  uses  the  title,  or 
rather  explains  it  as  the  counterpart  of  Rabbi  — 
Teacher. 

Matthew  2^,  8. 

"  Neither  be  ye  called  Master,  (or  Rabbi) ;  for 
one  is  your  master  (or  Rabbi,  teacher),  even  the 


I04        THE  BIBLE  SIGNIFICANCE 

Christ."  It  is  noteworthy  that  when  the  apostles 
went  forth  to  preach  to  men,  their  subject,  was 
the  great  teacher,  Christ.  It  is  even  more  used 
than  Jesus;  most  frequently  it  is  Christ  Jesus; 
and  again  Jesus  Christ,  our  Lord.  They 
preached  a  promised  Messiah,  who  according  to 
promise  had  indeed  come,  and  so  we  have  nu- 
merous references. 

Romans  5,  6. 
"  In  due  season  Christ  died  for  the  ungodly." 

Romans  6,  8. 

"  Now  if  we  be  dead  with  Christ/' 

Romans  8,   10. 

"  And  if  Christ  is  in  you,  the  body  is  dead  be- 
cause of  sin." 

Romans  8,  i/. 
"  Joint  heirs  with  Christ/' 

Romans  8,  ^^. 

. "  Who    shall    separate   us    from    the   love   of 
Christ  r  " 

Romans  10,  4. 

"  For  Christ  is  the  end  of  the  Law  unto  right- 
eousness to  every  one  that  believeth." 

I  Corinthians  15,  12. 

"  Now  if  Christ  be  preached." 


OF  EAST  AND  WEST  105 

But  we  need  not  multiply  illustrations,  a  very 
cursory  examination  will  show  that  as  Jesus 
is  the  prominent  name  in  the  gospels,  where  the 
object,  evidently  is  to  give  us  a  history  of  our 
Great  High  Priest  as  He  lived  and  died  for  us, 
so  in  the  writings  of  the  apostles,  as  we  know 
was  the  case  in  all  their  discourse,  Christ  was 
the  great  theme.  Many  of  the  adherents  of  the 
old  church  were  Jews,  and  would  be  more  in  love 
with  this  aspect  of  the  gospel,  not  only  as  the 
source  of  all  their  joy,  but  as  the  fulfillment  of 
all  their  hopes  as  children  of  Abraham.  The 
apostles  themselves  were  all  Jews.  But  in  this 
they  followed  also  the  example  of  our  Lord  Him- 
self, for  after  His  resurrection,  the  first  discourse 
He  uttered,  was  directly  in  this  line.  This  is 
the  burden  of  His  conversation  with  the  two 
disciples  as  they  walked  to  Emmaus. 

Luke  24,  25  and  2y. 

"  And  He  said  unto  them,  *  Oh,  Foolish  men, 
and  slow  of  heart  to  believe  in  all  that  the 
prophets  have  spoken !  Behooved  it  not  the  Christ 
to  suffer  these  things,  and  to  enter  into  His 
glory  ? '  And  beginning  at  Moses  and  from  all 
the  prophets.  He  interpreted  to  them  in  all  the 
scriptures  the  things  concerning  Himself."  And 
so  the  early  church  were  instructed  to  believe  in 
a  Christ  already  come,  as  the  Old  Testament 
Church  had  been  trained  in  a  Christ  to  come. 


io6       THE  BIBLE  SIGNIFICANCE 

Hebrews  p,  14  and  75. 

"  How  much  more  shall  the  blood  of  Christ, 
who  through  the  eternal  spirit  offered  Himself 
without  blemish  unto  God,  cleanse  your  con- 
science from  dead  works  to  serve  the  living  God  ? 
And  for  this  cause  He  is  the  Mediator  of  the 
New  Covenant,''  or  New  Testament.  In  the 
prominence  given  this  title  of  our  Lord,  we  have 
a  sufficient  reason,  for  a  fact  that  has  caused 
no  little  discussion,  given  us  in  Acts  11,  26. 
"  The  disciples  were  called  Christians  first  in 
Antioch."  Certainly  this  name  was  not  given 
them  by  the  Jews  for  they  esteemed  themselves 
the  true  Christites  or  Messiahites.  The  Jews 
always  referred  to  the  early  Christians  contempt- 
uously, as  the  '  Sect  of  the  Nazarenes,'  or 
the  followers  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth."  The  name 
Christians  was  evidently  given  them  by  Gentiles 
who  knew  them  as  the  followers  of  One  who  was 
known  among  them  as  Christ.  Just  as  the 
Greeks  took  the  name  of  their  teacher,  so  they 
gave  the  name  to  those  who  behooved  in  the 
teachings  of  Christ. 

Lord: 

The  remaining  title  we  understand  to  mean 
Master,  Disposer;  and  to  include  much  of  what 
we  mean  by  Kingship.  Certainly  our  Lord 
claimed  to  be  a  King  and  He  expressly  uses  the 
title  in  connection  with  the  claim,  as  we  shall 


OF  EAST  AND  WEST  107 

see.  The  first  reference  to  it,  as  we  have  ah-eady 
stated  is  in  the  announcement  of  the  angels  to 
the  wondering  shepherds  on  the  morning  of  the 
Advent.  It  is  to  be  found  only  in  a  very  few 
passages  in  any  of  the  gospels,  but  it  is  very  sig- 
nificantly used. 

We  have  already  referred  to  His  question  to 
the  Pharisees: 

"  If  David  then  called  Him  Lord,  how  is  He 
his  Son?  "  In  this  passage  our  Savior  evidently 
claims  to  be  Jehovah  King.  It  is  very  significant 
that  the  use  of  this  title  of  our  Savior  is  almost 
confined  to  the  discourses  He  uttered,  and  His 
acts,  connected  with  the  few  weeks  before  He 
suffered,  and  the  days  after  His  resurrection  and 
preceding  His  ascension. 

Luke  18,  6, 

"  And  the  Lord  said,  Hear  what  the  un- 
righteous Judge  saith."  He  who  shall  be  the 
King  and  Judge  of  all  men,  speaks  of  this  as 
one  who  know^s  what  righteous  judgment  is. 
But  when  Jesus  was  about  to  make  His  triumphal 
entry  into  Jerusalem  we  have  the  significant  re- 
cord: 

Luke  ig,  ji. 

"  And  if  any  one  ask  you  why  do  ye  loose  him 
(i.  e.  the  colt)  thus  shall  ye  say  '  The  Lord 
hath  need  of  him.'  "  He  did  not  say  the  prophet 
of  Galilee,  Jesus  of  Nazareth  hath  need  of  him, 


io8       THE  BIBLE  SIGNIFICANCE 

nor  yet  the  Christ,  the  promised  Messiah.  He 
used  His  Kingly  title,  because  He  was  about  to 
claim  before  all  men  His  Kingly  prerogative. 
But  it  is  especially  after  His  resurrection,  and 
during  the  days  when  He  was  upon  earth  after 
His  resurrection,  that  this  title  is  most  generally 
given  him.  These  were  days  of  visible  triumph. 
The  King  had  overcome  that  great  King  of  Ter- 
rors, who  during  four  thousand  years  had  kept 
the  world  in  bondage  "  through  fear  of  death." 
He  had  now  risen,  having  broken  the  bars  of  the 
tomb,  leading  "  captivity  captive."  What  name 
so  appropriate  as  Lord  Jehovah  King? 

Luke  24,  ^4. 

"  Saying  the  Lord  is  risen  indeed,  and  hath 
appeared  unto  Simon." 

John  20y  20. 

"  The  disciples  therefore  were  glad,  when  they 
saw  the  Lord." 

John  21,  7. 

"That  disciple  therefore  whom  Jesus  loved, 
saith  unto  Peter,  *  It  is  the  Lord.'  So  when 
Simon  Peter  heard  that  it  was  the  Lord" 

John  21,  75. 

So  in  answer  to  the  question  of  Jesus,  Peter 
says  "  Yea,  Lord." 


OF  EAST  AND  WEST  109 

John  21,  21. 

''  Peter  therefore  seeing  him,  Saith  to  Jesus. 
*  Lord,  what  shall  this  man  do?  '  " 

So  Thomas  when  his  doubts  were  all  removed 
said,  "  My  Lord  and  my  God."  So  too  the 
epistles  are  full  of  this  rejoicing. 

2  Corinthians  5,  18. 

"  But  we  all  with  unveiled  face  reflecting  as  a 
mirror  the  glory  of  the  Lord,  are  transformed 
into  the  same  image  from  glory  to  glory."  Be- 
holding the  King  in  His  beauty. 

2  Timothy  4,  8. 

"  Henceforth  there  is  laid  up  for  me  a  crown 
of  righteousness,  which  the  Lord  the  righteous 
judge  shall  give  me  at  that  day."  Who  can  give 
crowns  but  the  King? 

Lord  Jesus  Christ: 

It  is  quite  significant  that,  the  first  time,  these 
three  titles  are  brought  together  was  on  the  day 
of  Pentecost,  and  this  union  occurs  in  Peter's 
sermon. 

Acts  2,  s6. 

"  Let  all  the  House  of  Israel,  therefore  know 
assuredly,  that  God  hath  made  both  Lord  and 
Christ  this  Jesus  whom  ye  crucified."  The  same 
Holy  Spirit  who  guided  Peter,  led  the  apostles 
afterward  to  use  the  titles  together  frequently. 


mo       THE  BIBLE  SIGNIFICANCE 

"  Lord  Jesus  Christ  "are  well  known  names,  es- 
pecially in  Paul's  writings.  But  which  of  these 
titles  are  connected  with  the  person  of  our  Sa- 
vior in  heaven  ?  Have  we  any  suggestions  given 
in  the  appearances  of  our  Lord  after  His  ascen- 
sion, or  in  the  vision  of  the  Beloved  disciple  on 
Patmos  ?  Jesus  is  evidently  one  of  these  names, 
as  is  shown  from  the  following  passages : 

Acts  p,  5. 

Our  Savior  uses  this  name  when  He  appears 
to  Saul  on  the  way  to  Damascus.  "  And  he  (i. 
e.  Saul)  said,  *  Who  art  thou  Lord?'  And  He 
said,  *  I  am  Jesus  whom  thou  persecuted.'  "  So 
also  when  Ananias  came  to  comfort  and  teach 
Saul ;  "  And  laying  his  hands  on  him  said, 
*  Brother  Saul,  the  Lord  even  Jesus,  who  ap- 
peared unto  thee  in  the  way  which  thou  comest 
hath  sent  me.'  " 

Revelation  22, 16. 

''  I  Jesus  have  sent  mine  angel  to  testify  unto 
you  these  things  in  the  churches."  Jesus  then 
is  certainly  one  of  the  names  by  which  our 
Savior  is  known  in  heaven.  But  Lord  is  also 
a  title  known  there. 

Acts  8,  p. 

"  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Paul  in  the  night  by 
a  vision,  *  Be  not  afraid  but  speak  and  hold  not 
thy  peace.'  "     Our  Savior  says  to  John: 


OF  EAST  AND  WEST  in 

Revelation  i,  8. 

"  '  I  am  the  Alpha  and  the  Omega/  saith  the 
Lord  God,  '  which  is  and  which  was,  and  which 
is  to  come,  the  Ahnighty.'  " 

Revelation  4,  11. 

The  Saints  in  glory  cry  *'  Worthy  art  Thou, 
our  Lord  and  God." 

Revelation  15,  4. 

"  Who  shall  not  fear,  O  Lord,  and  glorify  thy 
name?  " 

Revelation   ly,   14. 

"  For  He  is  Lord  of  Lords  and  King  of 
Kings."  These  two  titles  are  also  used  together, 
that  is  Lord  Jesus  where  our  Savior  is  referred 
to  after  His  ascension. 

Acts  7,  5p. 

"  And  they  stoned  Stephen,  calling  upon  the 
Lord,  and  saying.  Lord  Jesus  receive  my  spirit." 

2  Thess,  I,  7. 

"  At  the  revelation  of  the  Lord  Jesus  from 
heaven  with  the  angelr  of  His  power."  The 
very  last  reference  on  the  name  is  very  signifi- 
cant. 

Revelation  22,  20. 

"  He  which  testified  these  things  saith,  *  Yes ; 
I  come  quickly  —  Amen.    Come,  Lord  Jesus !  *  " 


112        THE  BIBLE  SIGNIFICANCE 

These  two  names  also  have  a  special  significance 
when  we  remember  the  two  symbols  with  refer- 
ence to  our  Lord  Jesus,  as  given  in  Revelation 
5,  6.  "  And  I  saw  in  the  midst  of  the  throne 
and  of  the  four  living  creatures,  and  in  the  midst 
of  the  elders,  a  Lanih  standing,  as  though  it  had 
been  slain."  Now  a  Throne  is  always  a  symbol 
of  kingly  authority,  and  answers  to  the  title  Lord ; 
while  the  slain  Lamb  always  typifies,  Jesus,  our 
great  High  Priest.  These  are  the  only  two  of 
the  titles  that  are  used  by  our  Savior  Himself,  or 
by  John  in  heavenly  vision  concerning  Him. 
The  title  Christ  is  used  twice,  but  in  both  in- 
stances in  connection  with  the  earth,  not  heaven; 
that  is  with  the  mysterious  "  thousand  years  " 
commonly  known  as  the  Millennium. 

Revelation  20,  4. 

"  And  they  lived  and  reigned  with  Christ  a 
thousand  years."  From  what  we  have  been  con- 
sidering as  to  the  meaning  of  our  Lord's  title  as 
King,  does  it  not  almost  necessarily  follow  that 
the  thousand  years  cannot  mean  a  personal  reign 
when  it  says,  that  they  reigned  with  Christ  and 
not  with  the  Lord  Jesus?  In  the  final  end  of 
all  things,  He  will  reign  in  person,  and  John 
means  this,  when  he  says  "  Even  so  come,  come 
quickly.  Lord  Jesus."  To  reign  with  Christ 
would  mean  to  be  united  with  Him  in  His  teach- 
ing office  and  would  carry  the  idea  that  for  a 


OF  EAST  AND  WEST  113 

thousand  years  His  truth  will  be  triumphant  in 
the  hearts  of  men. 

In  view  of  the  foregoing,  it  seems  quite  certain 
that  the  " New  name  written"  which  is  of  course 
a  symbol,  like  the  stone  itself,  on  the  Diamond 
of  the  Breast  plate,  in  the  place  of  the  old  name 
"  Judah,"  contains  at  least  these  two  titles  "  Lord 
Jesus."  Observe  how  significantly  the  order  of 
these  titles  is  changed.  On  earth,  as  used  by 
Paul  and  others,  it  is  for  the  most  part  Jesus 
Christ  our  Lord,  the  kingly  title  last,  but  in 
heaven  it  becomes  Lord  Jesus,  the  Jehovah  king- 
ship being  put  first.  The  Redeemed  in  glory  in 
using  these  two  names,  remind  us  of  Paul's  for- 
mula for  confessing  Christ: 

Romans  10,  p. 

"  If  thou  shalt  confess  with  thy  mouth  Jesus  as 
Lord,  and  shalt  believe  in  thy  heart  that  God 
raised  Him  from  the  dead,  thou  shalt  be  saved." 
But  in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  "  white  stone  " 
is  given  to  the  victorious  ones,  "  he  that  over- 
cometh  "  perhaps  we  are  warranted  in  saying  that 
all  these  titles  are  included  in  the  "  New  Name 
Written,"  for  will  not  the  Apostle  Paul's  as- 
cription of  thanks  for  victory,  which  will  now 
be  seen  to  include  much  more  than  even  he  com- 
prehended, be  voiced  by  the  Redeemed  through- 
out all  the  ages  to  come?  "  Thanks  be  to  God, 
which  giveth  us  the  victory  through  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ!" 


BS477 .T71 

The  Bible  significance  of  East  and  West; 

Princeton  Theological  Semmary-Speer  Library 


1    1012  00011    1379 


^^<Jt. 


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